Head coach Joey Barton revealed that the signing of experienced defender Charlie Mulgrew will hugely benefit his side for the rest of the Sky Bet League One season.
Mulgrew – who joins Fleetwood from Sky Bet Championship side Blackburn Rovers – brings experience from various leagues in England, as well as over 200 appearances for Scottish Premiership side Celtic.
The 34-year-old will step into a young backline and will hope to bring the experiences he has had throughout his career and share those with the younger players.
When asked about the signing of Mulgrew in his pre-Lincoln press conference, he had this to say:
On the deal…
“We are delighted, we’ve been tracking the player for a while. It was a difficult situation with him and Blackburn and there were times when it was touch and go but, to add a player of Charlie’s quality to our group will be enormous over the period.
“It allows him to move on with his career and put behind him a tough spell where he wasn’t playing football. He’s come from a club that he loved being at and I think he can always go back to Blackburn with the fans thinking highly of him.
On Mulgrew’s playstyle…
“We can get the benefits from his experience and quality to bed in around some of our younger players. I think that if they play alongside Charlie, his experience will help their development massively.
“He’s someone who scored 14 goals in one season for Blackburn in League One and we know he will carry a goal threat. I haven’t signed him for that reason, I’ve signed him to keep the balls out, but if he does contribute and add 5-6 goals that will be great.
On bringing him into the side…
“We’ll have to monitor him and, off the back of a good result against Hull on Friday, it’s starting to bed in. Games are coming thick and fast and we will have to use the entire squad. Charlie comes into the squad, he trained with us today and he looks fit and seems to have looked after himself.
“We’ve been monitoring the work he’s been doing, and we’ve been in liaison with him to make sure that the move did happen and that he had done all the work necessary. Everything was done because he is a top pro.
“I don’t think it will take much for him to be ready. It’s just the fact that he needs games. You can do all the work, but nothing replicates the toughness of matches. He looks like he is pretty much there.”