Fleetwood Town manager Joey Barton admits he was shocked to pull off the signing of former Rangers winger Barrie McKay, as quoted by the Scottish Sun.
The 25-year-old signed for the Trawlermen on loan, late in the January window, but Barton says he’s a player they were lining up for some time.
McKay was allowed to leave after falling down the pecking order at Championship side Swansea City, for whom he had made just four substitute appearances in the league this season.
In an attempt to get more regular playing time, he’s dropped to EFL League One.
“We can’t believe that he is in this league but we are absolutely delighted to have him,” Barton said, as quoted by the Scottish Sun.
“I couldn’t believe he was available because you would expect a Championship club or one of the big Scottish teams to take a player of his quality.
“We’d monitored him all the way through but late in the window he was available at Fleetwood prices and luckily for us we got him signed.”
Verdict
Barton is clearly chuffed with the signing of McKay, and he gave him his debut 56 minutes into a 2-1 win at AFC Wimbledon at the weekend.
It is somewhat curious that a player who showed so much talent across over 130 appearances for the Gers, has struggled to fully realise his potential since moving south of the border.
After an initial stint with Nottingham Forest, he joined the Swans, but as long as Steve Cooper remains manager at the Liberty Stadium, his chances of future involvement appear to be slim.
Based on these comments he’ll not be short of positive encouragement from Barton at Fleetwood, though, and he could play a part in a promotion push over the second half of the campaign.
The Trawlermen are currently ninth in the table but are just three points behind sixth-placed Sunderland, who currently occupy the final playoff spot.
