Brotherly love is Glorious

Carl Marston

COLCHESTER United club skipper Chris Coyne, if he heeds the advice of his younger brother Jamie, will be playing for Perth Glory in his native Australia next season.

However, although U's centre-half Coyne looks set to leave the U's, it is by no means certain that he will decide on a return to Australia.

In fact, Jamie believes that his older sibling might end up staying in Europe. The 30-year-old will weigh up all his options over the coming days.

The No. 1 priority remains finding regular first team football in his quest to play for the Socceroos in next year's World Cup in Australia.

U's boss Paul Lambert has already stated that he cannot guarantee this at Colchester, so a move remains likely. Chris Coyne, who still has two years left on his contract, might also consider a switch to Asia, the Middle East or another English club.

Younger brother Jamie said: “I hope he (Chris) can come to an agreement with Perth. But I think he's just waiting on getting a few offers and weighing them all up at the same time.

“On a personal note, I'd love to have him here and he'd love to be back in Perth. I'm definitely trying to persuade him to come back.”

However, Jamie did add: “It is hard obviously, because he's been in Europe now for 12 or 13 years and he's got a young family.

“I think the idea of maybe another one or two years (in Europe) isn't the worst thing for him. He's dealt with all the homesickness and everything like that.”

Coyne began his career at Perth SC in 1995, before moving to England a year later to join West Ham. He signed for the U's from Luton for a then-club record fee of �350,000 at the start of 2008.

But he struggled to make an impact last season, due in part to all his international commitments - he has now been capped seven times by the Socceroos.

U's boss Lambert has already taken steps to strengthen his defence by signing versatile defender Lee Beevers from Lincoln City earlier this month.