PAUL Cox believes new Barrow AFC winger Lindon Meikle can become an instant favourite on the Holker Street terraces.

Meikle became the fourth new face to join the Bluebirds this week when he put pen to paper on a one-year deal – with an option for a second year based on appearances.

The 28-year-old has rejoined the manager who brought him from the youth ranks into the first team at Eastwood Town and then into full-time professional football with Mansfield Town.

He made 129 appearances for the Stags during three seasons in the Conference and League Two and a further 32 for York before his departure from Bootham Crescent early last season.

Cox had been keen to bring Meikle to Barrow during the transfer window in January, but as he had already been with York and Macclesfield Town during the season, was unable to due to footballing regulations.

However, the player has exercised a clause in his contract with National League North side Alfreton Town to allow him to move to a higher-division side and his signature was announced alongside new deals for Andy Parry and Alex-Ray Harvey this week.

Cox is looking forward to seeing his fellow Nottinghamshire man in action once more, and said: “People will know that we go back a number of years, but it’s not a friendship thing with me and Lindon that’s made me bring him in. I’ve brought him in because he’s an excellent, quality addition to our squad.

“Eighteen months ago, he’s playing in League Two. I think he probably made a bad mistake in cancelling his contract at York – he was a little bit too impulsive – and he should really be playing at that level now.

“There were a few mistakes after each other in terms of decision-making.

“We’ve finally got him and I think he will be a quality addition to the squad, but he will also become a fan’s favourite very quickly with what he is and what he produces.

“He puts people on the back foot. He’s an excellent dribbler, he works extremely hard for the team and, more importantly, he’s an outlet with quality in wide areas.

“He’s got an abundance of pace and he will give us competition in those wide areas on both sides. He can play on either wing, he can play down the middle, he can play in the number 10 role, and ultimately his pace will affect things in a positive way for us.”

Cox feels Meikle, who has 11 Conference goals from his 85 Mansfield appearances, should be reaching the peak of his career as he arrives in South Cumbria.

He admits both surprise and disappointment that he found himself a level below with Alfreton after his self-propelled departure from York and sees him now as returning to the level he should be playing at as a minimum.

“We’re taking him at 27 years of age and , I think, in his prime,” said Cox, who first brought Meikle into first-team football with Eastwood when he was 16.

“I think he made a few decisions. This is not something I’m saying around him, it’s something I’ve told him.

“He was a little impulsive when he was a Football League player and he has paid the price for that over the last six to nine months.

“I think he is ready now to kick-on again and he’s in his prime.”

Meikle’s signing follows deals for strikers Richie Bennett and Ross Hannah and central defender Moussa Diarra.

Jordan Williams, Joel Dixon, Andy Haworth and Danny Livesey have a year left to run on their contracts, with Parry and Harvey having penned new contracts and Cox waiting to confirm Elliot Newby will also be on board.

Among those players, Meikle joins Williams, Haworth, Bennett and Hannah in providing numerous attacking options, and Cox added: “In this league, you need people who are going to put other teams on the back foot, not just physically, but technically and psychologically as well.

“We’ve got a nice little nucleus of players, all different in their own way, and we are developing a lot of pace in those areas.

“No matter how good a coach you are, sometimes teams can’t deal with pace.

“We are developing a group of players who all have different strengths and I look at that as being a positive.

“The one thing we will have with Howarth, Williams and Meikle is pace.”