Indian Super League side Jamshedpur FC on Friday confirmed the appointment of Owen Coyle as their new head coach ahead of their 2020-’21 campaign.
Coyle was in charge of Chennaiyin FC during the 2019-’20 ISL season, where he took the then bottom-placed club to the final. Coyle took up the reins of CFC in December last year after John Gregory parted ways with the club, having won just one game out of the first six – against Hyderabad FC. Under Coyle, Chennaiyin FC suffered only two defeats in 14 matches before the final against ATK.
From strugglers to finalists: How Owen Coyle turned around Chennaiyin’s ISL campaign
The 54-year-old said, “Jamshedpur has a tremendous football legacy. The club has all the right things in place, starting with its vision and translating into a robust foundation of grassroots, youth, Tata Football Academy, and required infrastructure such as fantastic training and accommodation facilities at par with some of those in Europe.
“The vociferous fans have been amongst the best in ISL over the past three seasons, which I had the opportunity to see while soaking in the atmosphere in my debut game in India at the Furnace. This club deserves to be competing at the pinnacle of the ISL and nothing less, and I am excited and honoured to have been entrusted with the task.”
Coyle replaces Spaniard Antonio Iriondo, under who Jamshedpur were expected to go at least a step ahead and qualify for playoffs last season, but things fell apart for the Tata Steel Ltd-owned outfit after a fine start. They finished with 18 points in eighth place.
Jamshedpur FC season review: Leaky defence, over-reliance on foreigners failed Iriondo’s men
Coyle has significant English football experience, having been in charge of Bolton Wanderers and Burnley. He has also managed Houston Dynamos in Major League Soccer. Under Coyle, Bolton reached the FA Cup semis in his first season in-charge, and he was awarded the Premier League Manager of the Month thrice during his tenure. He later moved on to Wigan Athletic in the English Championship, followed by his first stint outside Europe with Dynamos in 2014. He then returned to the English Championship with Blackburn Rovers in 2016, followed by a short spell at Ross County in Scotland before his move to India in 2019.
Chanakya Chaudhary, Chairman of the Jamshedpur club, underlined the importance of having an experienced manager in charge: “He has proven credentials and shares the ambitions of the club, which was evident in our fruitful discussions. He is known to bring out the best in experienced players as well as younger ones while inculcating a winning mentality. This made his appointment an easy decision.”
As a player, Coyle enjoyed a long and impressive career as a forward with the likes of Bolton Wanderers, Dundee United and Motherwell among others. A Scot by birth and an Irishman by descent, Coyle scored more than 300 goals in his professional career and also represented Republic of Ireland at the international level.
The club said Coyle will be joined by Sandy Stewart as the assistant coach.
Corrections and clarifications: This article has been updated to reflect Chennaiyin FC’s statement that the club “mutually parted ways” with John Gregory.