TONY Capaldi is not expecting the warmest of welcomes tomorrow as he returns to Morecambe for the first time since an acrimonious departure 18 months ago.

The left back joined the Shrimps in 2010 after leaving Cardiff City, but made just 17 starts in his one season in Lancashire.

The spell went sour after the Northern Ireland international was critical of the team’s training methods and playing style on Twitter.

Capaldi later apologised for the comments, which he said were not intended to be taken seriously, and deleted his account on the social networking site, but did not play in the final six weeks of the campaign.

The 31-year-old is under no illusions of the reception in store at the Globe Arena, although he insists otherwise the stint was positive.

He said: “I don’t know what the reaction will be, I’ll probably get a few boos.

“That’s mainly what players get when they go back to their old clubs.

“I was out of contract and looking for a club at the time, so I had a chance to go and play.

“I was grateful to play, but it was only a short time in my career.”

One of Capaldi’s teammates during his stint at Morecambe was Jim Bentley, who is now the manager.

He said: “I knew as soon as he took over he’d want his teams to be fit, strong and tough to play against – I’m sure that’s what they’ll be on Saturday.

“We’ll have to make sure we can compete first and hopefully then get the ball down and play some football.

“It would be a good three points if we could get it, we’re good enough to go up there and if we play well to get a result, that’s what we’re looking to do.

“We have a solid base now where we’re organised and working hard to dig out results.

“We just need to add a bit more quality to our play now and if we do that I’m sure the results will start coming.”