Fleetwood Town manager Joey Barton has warned Leeds United loanee Lewie Coyle that he has a fight on his hands to get back into the Cod Army team.
Coyle has been on loan at Fleetwood since 2017 and has been a key player for the club over the last season-and-a-half in the second tier of English football.
But the defender has missed the last three league games due to an injury and 24-year-old Wes Burns has impressed at right-back in the absence of the Leeds loan star.
Coyle is fit to return to action, but Barton insisted that he will not be slotted straight back into the team and will need to fight to win his place back in the starting eleven.
The Fleetwood boss has been impressed with Burns’ performances and admits the Leeds loanee will have to prove his mettle again to take the 24-year-old’s slot in right-back.
Barton was quoted as saying by the Blackpool Gazette: “Coyley is back on Saturday but I think it is going to be tough to shift Wes out of the right-back slot.
“I said to Wes, ‘You have number seven on your squad shirt but we might have to think about making it number two next season’.
“Coyley is coming back.
“He’s been a great player for the team but they have a fight on for that jersey now because Wes has been exceptional.”
Coyle has made 79 appearances for Fleetwood since joining in 2017.
