DANNY WRIGHT still gets a buzz out of proving the doubters wrong after starting his spell at Torquay with a bang.

The 36-year-old striker made the switch to Plainmoor in the summer after leaving Solihull Moors and the Gulls are flying high at the top of the National League.

Gary Johnson's side have won six of their opening seven matches, with Wright bagging six goals including a hat-trick in Saturday's 5-0 thrashing of Hartlepool.

It's definitely a case of so far, so good for the experienced frontman.

"I was out of contract at Solihull and spoke to Torquay in the summer," said Wright.

"I was at a crossroads where to head with my career and Torquay was the right fit.

"Obviously I know the manager and assistant really well, and it is a great opportunity to keep my career going.

"I still feel as fit as ever. I worked hard in lockdown to keep my fitness up, ready for when something came up and it is going well for me.

"It is certainly paying off so far.

"We have started well. I have got a good group of players around me and I have got the easy job of tapping the ball in the net after they have done all the work!"

The well-travelled Wright, who played for Wrexham from 2011 to 2013, also counts Histon, Cambridge, Forest Green, Gateshead, Kidderminster and Cheltenham among his former clubs.

A free agent after spending two seasons with Solihull, some non-league supporters felt Wright was past his best despite being a prolific scorer in his career but that only spurs him on to continue finding the back of the net.

"It motivates you, of course it does," said Wright.

"You are always trying to prove people wrong in football and I am happy to be doing that at the moment.

"It is still early days, there is a long way to go and we are not getting ahead of ourselves but we are definitely happy with how it has gone so far."

Torquay turn their attention to the FA Cup on Sunday with the Gulls playing host to Crawley Town, who are seventh in League Two.

Wright, part of cup giant-killing acts with Wrexham and Solihull, is looking to cause another shock with Torquay.

"It's been a kind competition for me," said Wright.

"It is a great competition to play in, especially for non-league and lower league teams. It is a chance to get that scalp and make the back page of the papers.

"Every year someone makes the headlines.

"Crawley are a league above and doing well too so it will be a tough game for us.

"We are the underdogs, we are a league below, but we will be going into the game with every bit of confidence that we can cause an upset."

Wright helped Wrexham register a club record 98 points during the 2011-12 season, the Reds pipped to the Conference title by big spending Fleetwood Town.

Whilst challenging for promotion back to the Football League, Andy Morrell's side knocked League One outfit Brentford out of the FA Cup to set up a third round trip to Brighton.

Adrian Cieslewicz's goal earned Wrexham a replay and a full-house at The Racecourse saw Morrell give the Reds the lead with a stunning strike.

However, Wright went off injured with a dislocated elbow and the Seagulls - then playing in the Championship - equalised before winning 5-4 in the penalty shoot-out.

"Brighton was disappointing for us in the end," added Wright.

"I was enjoying the game so much and to come off injured was sickening.

"But we still took them all the way to penalties."