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Fri, Dec

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OWEN Coyle will need no reminding of the danger Jason Scotland poses when Latics kick-off their Championship campaign at Barnsley this weekend.

Scotland endured a miserable 12 months at Wigan after following Roberto Martinez from Swansea in the summer of 2009 for £2million.

After moving on to Ipswich, Scotland also failed to rediscover his best form.

But he kickstarted his career after joining Barnsley midway through last term, six goals in six starts helping the Tykes pull off an unlikely Great Escape.

That came as no surprise to Coyle, who was manager of St Johnstone when Scotland went through the purple patch that saw him earn a move south of the border.

And Coyle believes that, even at the age of 34, Scotland will be a huge threat to Wigan’s hopes of getting off to a winning start at Oakwell.

“It was me who sold Jason to Roberto,” Coyle told the Evening Post.

“I first worked with Jason when I was player-coach at Dundee United, and then when I went to St Johnstone I took him with me.

“He failed to get another work permit with Dundee United but we were able to get him one to join St Johnstone, and we had a fantastic two years together.

“I actually remember playing alongside Jason two or three times when the team was struggling, and very much enjoyed it. He’s a quality player and lovely man, and I jumped at the chance to take him to St Johnstone.

“He went on to score about 50 goals for me during his time there, and he’s proved he still knows where the goal is.”

Coyle also acknowledged the Trinidad and Tobago international would love nothing better than to put one over his former club this weekend.

“A few of the lads here will remember him from his time with Wigan, and they’ll know that he is a very dangerous player inside the penalty box,” the Latics’ boss added.

Coyle continued: “People said he had a point to prove when he went to Barnsley after what happened at Ipswich, and he certainly did that last season.

“He’s shown he’s still got plenty to offer, he holds the ball up as well as anyone, he can shoot with both feet.

“That said, they also have (Chris) O’Grady and (Chris) Dagnall, who are quality players themselves, and we’ll have to keep an eye on them too.”