OWEN Coyle is aiming to showcase a new striker at the City Ground, while keeping an old one quiet.

The Burnley boss is expected to hand Steven Thompson his debut at Nottingham Forest tomorrow, after the Scottish front man completed a free transfer deadline day move from Cardiff City.

But although Coyle is always keen to lay the emphasis on his own camp rather than the opposition, he cannot ignore the threat Forest’s summer capture Andrew Cole poses, after working with the former England, Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers striker at close quarters last season.

When the 36-year-old arrived at Turf Moor on loan from Sunderland in January it was a real coup for the Clarets.

Despite a spell punctuated by injury, it proved equally effective for Cole himself.

After a lack of match action at the Stadium of Light had left him contemplating retirement, his love of football was rekindled in East Lancashire and enhanced by a match-winning hat-trick – his first for seven and a half years – on a memorable night at Queens Park Rangers.

Although Cole turned down the offer of new terms in the summer, and went on to sign for hometown club Forest, Coyle will never forget the impact he had on Burnley.

“What he knew when he came to the club was that everyone had a very high opinion of him and that he’d a lot to offer,” said the Burnley boss.

“He had a couple of little knocks here and there, but I recall one game when he wasn’t even fit and we were struggling for numbers and he was prepared to come off the bench for us if we needed him in the last 15-20 minutes.

“For a player of that stature and everything that he’s done in the game, it would be very easy for him to say ‘I’m not fit’, but no. He said ‘Boss, if you need me I’ll be there to play my part’.

“I thought that spoke volumes for him, not only as a professional but also as a man.

“He’s one of the top strikers ever in the country, and the fact that he’s prepared to do that, no-one will have a higher opinion of Andrew than what we have here.

“We wish him nothing but the very best, except when he plays us!”

He added: “It was always going to be a big lure for him (to play for his hometown club) and all credit to him.

“But he loved his time here at the football club, I’ve no doubt about that.

“I still keep in touch with him.

“I think he knows how well he was liked here and what he brought. He came into the group very well and integrated himself, and the players have a very healthy respect and a real liking for him, and that’s important.”

Winger Wade Elliott echoed the sentiment.

“He was terrific when he was here, he could finish with any bit of his body, and he was really popular,” he said.

“He was good among the lads, and especially the younger lads. It was great for someone of his calibre to be around, and he always took time to talk and help you out.

“He will be dangerous. Here, with any chances around the box, he was frightening.”

Of Cole’s last appearance in a Burnley shirt, which ended with the striker nursing an horrendous knee wound yet charging down the tunnel in pursuit of red-carded perpetrator Darren Purse, Elliott added: “It was a strange exit, but you could see when he was here how much he enjoyed playing his football.

“With the career he’s had, he doesn’t need to be out there unless he really loves what he’s doing.

“That’s probably got him a lot of the success he’s had.

“It will be good to see him again, and hopefully we’ll keep him quiet.”

Although Cole is expected to be named as a substitute, after shaking off a calf niggle, his impact from the bench cannot be underestimated.

Thompson, meanwhile, will look to make an instant impact should he make his Burnley bow.

And Coyle is excited by what the 29-year-old can bring to the team.

“He’ll probably feel, having been the ‘number 9’ at Cardiff, when they brought some big names in he was the one that was left out and sitting on the bench and not playing as much as he wanted,”

said the Clarets boss.

“That was one of the reasons that, when he became available, we knew he had that desire and that point to prove.

“Given the career he’s had it would be very easy to rest on your laurels, put the carpet slippers on and get your cigar out –- that’s not the type of lad he is.

“He’s coming to the football club with a point to prove and wanting to play his part.”