Barnsley FC's Jon Russell challenged to prove his point to Conor Hourihane
Conor Hourihane is looking forward to Jon Russell proving a point to him at home to Fleetwood Town on Wednesday.
Across the board, the League Cup first round offers an opportunity for players to catch up match minutes they have been denied so far, and for others to take a breather.
Neil Farrugia is set for his first football of the season after injury, and Jack Shepherd will return after a red card at Plymouth Argyle, and suspension against Burton Albion.
Cultured midfielder Jon Russell is set for a more prominent role after substitute appearances in both those wins.
"Jon will play on Wednesday," confirmed Hourihane. "No doubt he'll be in that little bit disappointed camp (of players).
"I decided to not play him and go with other personnel in the first couple of games but it doesn't mean that he's not going to play in the near future and moving forward.
"He'll definitely be one champing at the bit and putting a performance in to go, 'This is why you shouldn't leave me out,' so I'll be looking forward to that.
"Neil will definitely be involved in some capacity. His injury was only a slight one.
"I need to get Neil now in a place where he becomes that little bit more robust in terms of being involved in squads and team selection on a consecutive basis. It's important now for Neil that we get him in that place and he'll definitely be involved on Wednesday."
The game will be decided on the night, with the winners progressing to round two at the end of August, when the Premier League clubs not involved in Europe join in.
Hourihane wants his team to get into a winning habit, and will be trying to balance that with sharing workloads for the likes of 37-year-old David McGoldrick.
"We're not blessed with huge numbers, so that's going to be the case but there will be shared minutes to try and not kind of flog the lads too much before the Bolton game (in League One on Saturday)."