Loyalty, Ambition and Owen Coyle

Owen Coyle's decision to make the move from the manager's office at Burnley to the undoubtedly plusher one at Bolton Wanderers has taken many people by surprise. After all, it's barely six months since he rejected overtures from Celtic to take up the reigns at Parkhead, declaring his loyalty to Burnley and signing a contract extension with the Turf Moor club. Coyle has burning ambitions within football and sets himself the highest standards. In terms of loyalty, he has shown throughout his career that the person he is loyal to is himself.

Burnley fans have been left saddened and confused by Coyle's decision. To many, Burnley are every bit as big a club as Bolton. To some, brought up following football in the 60s and early 70s, Burnley remain a far bigger club than Bolton. Coyle's decision is apparently motivated by the promise of a bigger player budget giving him more chance of competing on an even footing with the best the Premiership has to offer.

During his long career Coyle has never been one to hang around for long. As a young player he followed brothers Tommy and Joe to Dumbarton, and then moved to Clydebank, Airdrieonians, Bolton Wanderers, Dundee United, Motherwell, Dunfermline Athletic, Ross County, Airdrieonians (again), Falkirk, Dundee United (again), Airdrie United and St Johnstone. Four seasons seemed to be his maximum stopping time although fans of most, if not all, of these teams would pay tribute to his enthusiasm and goalscoring ability. It is apparent that Coyle has always tried to better himself and sees new challenges as the best way of extending his experience and skills set.

His first management post was as co-manager of Falkirk alongside John Hughes. For a variety of reasons Coyle moved on and returned to playing before taking over as manager of St Johnstone in 2005. He built a decent side at McDiarmid Park, coming within seconds of promotion in 2007, and laid the foundations for Derek McInnes to complete the job two years later. His tactical astuteness, man mangement skills, motivational ability and meticulous planning attracted the attention of Burnley. Before taking the job Coyle did his own 'due diligence' on the Turf Moor club. He liked what he saw, and guided them back into the top flight of English football after a gap of more than thirty years.

Bolton were just one of several clubs to take an interest in employing the likeable Scot. It's worth saying that he considers himself Scottish despite making one international appearnce for the Republic of Ireland. That too was a calculated move. He wanted to play international football but knew that his chances of a game for Scotland were slim. When Ireland came calling, Coyle was happy to swap navy blue for emerald green and said yes.

Coyle enjoyed his time as a player with Bolton. His talents were appreciated there as he contributed to succsseful Cup runs at a time when Bolton were emerging from years in the doldrums. But you will not hear Coyle coming out with the usual quotes about 'a dream come true' to be returning to Bolton. Coyle's ambitions lie beyond that. He is aiming for the very top in the game and he has the qualities to get there. When Sir Alex finally decides to hang up his coat and pack away his chewing gum, Coyle could very well be the man to take over from him. In the meantime he'll devote boundless energy and enthusiasm to Bolton Wanderers and he'll expect everyone else to do the same. Coyle is unlikely to compromise his tactical principles which are based on a philosophy of passing, attacking football. The idea of long ball football and blanket defence is certainly not for him.

When he turned down the Celtic job he passed up the opportunity to manage a team that compete regularly in Europe. Coyle may not have been a Champions League player but he wants and expects to be a Champions League manager. That's unlikely to happen to him at Bolton, but don't bet against it happening somewhere in the next five years.