 "ISL: Chennaiyin FC announce return of Owen Coyle as coach ahead of 2023-24 season")
Two-time Indian Super League (ISL) champions Chennaiyin FC on Sunday announced the return of Owen Coyle as their coach ahead of the 2023-24 season. The Scottish football manager, a three-time recipient of the Premier League Manager of the Month award, returns to the club that he led to the final of the 2019-20 edition on a multi-year deal. “We’re delighted to have Owen back in Chennaiyin colours. Owen is no stranger to India and we’ve all seen what he can do here. He’s the right man to lead our young team forward and we’re glad to have him back home,” Chennaiyin co-owner Vita Dani was quoted as saying in an official release from the club. More recently, the 57-year-old won the ISL League Shield with Jamshedpur FC in 2021-22 with 43 points which was the highest at the time in the history of the tournament. Coyle has also served as a coach in the Premier League. In his first season as manager in England he secured Burnley a promotion to top-flight English football by defeating Sheffield United in the 2008–09 Play-Off Final. Later, he joined Bolton and under Coyle they were a resilient Premier League side, which advanced to the FA Cup semi-finals in his first season. Coyle also had a successful journey in the Major League Soccer (MLS) at Houston Dynamos in the United States. Most recently, he coached Queen’s Park Football Club in the second tier of Scottish football and guided them to a third-place finish in the league stage, helping them qualify for the promotion playoffs to the Scottish Premier Division. An excited Coyle said, “Really excited to be back at Chennaiyin FC. It was a wonderful experience the last time. The club has had fantastic success and we want to try and replicate that. It’s going to be tough; we know that but we all love the challenge of that in football. I’m excited to replicate the successes that the club had previously for our wonderful fans and I look forward to seeing them soon.”
Chennaiyin FC won the tournament in 2015 and in 2017-18, defeating FC Goa and Bengaluru FC respectively besides the runner-up finish in 2019-20. As a player, Coyle had a long and successful career as a striker. Besides featuring in the Premier League, he also played for clubs like Dundee United and Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League. He has more than 300 goals to his name. Fulfilling the obligations of his previous contract with Queens Park FC, Owen will only be able to take charge of the team in August.