Rumours abound that Cliff Byrne could be making his way back to Scunthorpe. He lives in the area and spent nine years with the Iron, helping them to win three promotions in five seasons. Still under contract at Boundary Park for another season, manager Lee Johnson accepts that the 31-year-old could reluctantly be lost.
Johnson said, “Contact has been made and Scunthorpe have expressed a desire to bring Cliff in. At the moment, the situation is no clearer. I would like to keep him here. We get on great and though I haven’t seen the best of him football-wise due to injury, he has been excellent behind the scenes. I know he will end up being a manager one day. He is a real, true leader of the sort very hard to come by.”
Scunthorpe manager Brian Laws confessed, “The one thing that would be a stumbling block is that he’s got that extra year at Oldham. He’s the type of player I would like to have back at the club — there’s no question about that. I think it was a huge mistake to let him go.”