Owen Coyle

Club

Early career in Scotland

Coyle began his senior career with Dumbarton in 1985 where he played alongside his brothers Joe and Tommy. In 1988, he joined Clydebank.

Airdrieonians

In March 1990 a £175,000 transfer took him to Airdrieonians for the first of three spells at the club. This move was instantly successful, Coyle scoring a hat-trick on his debut and going on to finish as the Scottish League's top scorer for 1989–90. Over the next two seasons his goals helped Airdrie to promotion, a Scottish Cup final appearance in 1992, and an appearance in the 1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup (as the Scottish Cup winners Rangers also won the Scottish Premier Division title and qualified for the UEFA Champions League).

Bolton Wanderers

In the summer of 1993, Bolton Wanderers paid £250,000 to sign Coyle, and his two-year spell in England included promotion and a brief chance to play in the FA Premier League. He was a key part of their Division One promotion winning side in 1995, scoring a 75th-minute goal against Reading in the playoff final which gave Bolton a lifeline to peg the scoreline back to 2–1. With 90 minutes on the clock, the score was 2–2 and Bolton won 4–3 in extra time to end their 15-year exile from the top flight.

Dundee United

However, in October 1995, a £400,000 transfer fee took him to Dundee United, where he was once again part of a promotion-winning side, scoring the winning goal in extra time in the…

St Johnstone

In April 2005, Coyle was named as the new manager of St Johnstone. In March 2006, he was awarded Manager of the Month for the Scottish First Division for his team's performance. Coyle led St Johnstone to a 2–0 victory over Rangers at Ibrox to reach the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup. It was their first win over the Glasgow club at Ibrox in 35 years. St Johnstone lost 3–1 after extra time to Hibernian in that semi-final. Saints also reached the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup thanks to away wins against SPL clubs Falkirk and Motherwell, but lost 2–1 to Celtic at Hampden in the semi-final. In the same season, Saints also competed for the First Division championship and promotion to the SPL. On 30 March 2007, Coyle was awarded his second Scottish First Division Manager of the Month award of the 2006–07 season. Saints took the title fight with Gretna to the final day of the season, and only a last minute goal by James Grady that gave Gretna victory at Ross County denied Saints promotion. Coyle signed a one-year extension to his contract with St Johnstone in July 2007, which would have kept him at the club until the end of the 2009–10 season. In the early part of the 2007–08 season, Coyle led Saints to the 2007 Scottish Challenge Cup Final. He accepted an offer from Burnley in the week before the final and left the club. Coyle's assistant Sandy Stewart took charge of the team for the final, which was won 3–2 against Dunfermline Athletic.

Burnley…

Player

Bolton Wanderers

Football League First Division play-offs: 1995 Airdrieonians

Scottish Challenge Cup: 2001–02 Falkirk

Scottish Football League First Division: 2002–03 Airdrie United

Scottish Football League Second Division: 2003–04 Individual

Inducted into Airdrieonians Hall of Fame: 2002

Manager

Falkirk

Scottish Football League First Division: 2002–03 Burnley

Football League Championship play-offs: 2009 Chennaiyin

Indian Super League; runners-up: 2019–20 Jamshedpur

Indian Super League; League Winners Shield: 2021–22 Individual

Premier League Manager of the Month: November 2010, March 2012