Ahead of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2020-21 season, Jamshedpur FC has signed Owen Coyle as their new head coach.
Coyle comes fresh of spectacular performance in the 2019-20 ISL season, where he took the then bottom-placed club to the tournament finals. The 54-year-old is distinguished by his style of attack-minded football seen in all his previous stints.
"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," Coyle said in a club's official release.
"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 honored to have been entrusted with the task," he added.
Coyle is a former English Premier League manager of Bolton Wanderers and Burnley and 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 Houston Dynamos in USA's Major League Soccer (MLS) 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 Jamshedpur FC, underlined the importance of having the Scotsman on board.
"We're delighted to bring Owen Coyle to Jamshedpur FC. 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 from experienced players as well as younger ones while inculcating a winning mentality. This made his appointment an easy decision," Chanakya said.
"The Jharkhand community has been supporting the beautiful game for long, very evident from the 75-year-old Jamshedpur Sporting Association league, and we are sure this huge fan base will be delighted with the appointment," he added.
Coyle will be joined by Sandy Stewart as the assistant coach. Sandy has been the assistant manager at several clubs in Scotland, England and the United States, working with Owen Coyle.
( With inputs from ANI )