THE END OF AN ERROR
Five months was all it took for Coyle to realise that he couldn’t halt the downward spiral at Ross County
LITTLE more than a fortnight separated the arrival of Owen Coyle at Ross County and Steve Clarke taking charge of Kilmarnock.
At the time, the appointments seemed almost twinned by their ambition. Two managers with extensive CVs from England were returning north of the border to aid two Premiership clubs divorced from the resources of their big city rivals.
It hardly needs said they have become worlds apart since. While Clarke’s reputation has reached new heights through his remarkable revival of Rugby Park, Coyle’s Highlands tenure came to an end yesterday after a mere five months.
A sorry record of four wins in 21 league games leaves County sitting three points adrift at the foot of the top-flight table.
The 51-year-old’s resignation forms the latest step in a career path that has wandered far off track from its immense early promise.
A likeable, hugely enthusiastic character, Coyle’s work at St Johnstone and, more specifically, Burnley once marked him out as one of Britain’s brightest coaches. So much so that he turned down an approach from Celtic in 2009 following Gordon Strachan’s exit from Parkhead.
Those heady days now seem pretty distant. Bolton, Wigan, Houston Dynamo and Blackburn all sought some of the old magic before County chairman Roy MacGregor came calling. None gathered much in the way of sparkle.
There was some initial promise with three wins in his first six games. But then came a dire sequence of 13 matches without the scent of victory.
Alarm bells began to clang and, despite picking up four points from their last three fixtures following a slew of January additions, they remain audible far across the Kessock Bridge.
Even so, the timing of Coyle’s departure left many wide-eyed. He had attended a media briefing yesterday morning in which he spoke positively of tomorrow’s scheduled fixture against Partick Thistle. Win that one and County are off the bottom.
By 6pm, however, the club had confirmed Coyle had gone. The fact his family have remained in England was cited as a key factor.
County were sitting tenth when Jim McIntyre and Billy Dodds were left shocked by their sacking just seven Premiership matches into the campaign.
Indeed, the hangover from that call is one reason why former County midfielder Barry Wilson thinks Coyle may have struggled to make an impact.
‘I don’t know all the reasons, but it probably took Owen a while to work out his best team,’ reflected Wilson, who has followed County’s fortunes in his role as a Radio Scotland pundit. ‘Most of the time he was playing one up front. I didn’t like that as a player and I didn’t really like watching it.
‘I just felt there were games when they could have had more of a go. It did feel a little bit safe at times.
‘Looking back, it was obviously a big shock when Jim and Billy were sacked and that might have had a little detrimental effect on the players’ mentality.
‘When you do pre-season with a manager who has been there for two or three years, you get bedded in to what he wants.
‘I think Jim and Billy had brought just about every one of those players into the club and they were quite a close-knit group. Maybe their departure had a little bit of a lingering effect.
‘But, listen, the players have to take a large share of the responsibility. To me, they are good enough and the squad is big enough for them not to be in the position they are in.
‘Does Roy now regret what happened with Jim and Billy? Possibly. But I know it was the hardest decision he has made with any manager. He admits that openly. Roy just felt it was time to change. But it hasn’t worked. That happens.’
Wilson has sympathy for Coyle’s domestic situation and feels he deserves recognition for taking the decision to step away.
‘It came as a real surprise when you look at the amount of signings that were made in January and the fact Owen always talked so positively,’ he added.
‘They’d had a couple of decent results before a poor one last Saturday (losing to St Johnstone) and managed to get themselves a bit closer to the pack.
‘But I know myself that it is hard enough to be away from your family when things are going well. It’s really tough if times are bad because they are your support mechanism.
‘Owen had a fantastic time earlier in his career, particularly down at Burnley, and it looked like he was going to be a real top, top manager.
‘For one reason or another, it hasn’t really worked out at the clubs he has gone to more recently. I imagine he will want to go home and spend time with his family to rethink and go again.’
Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson are options Wilson rates highly within County’s existing coaching staff.
And indications last night were that Under-20s boss Kettlewell will take over as the club seeks to avoid the fate which befell their Highland rivals Inverness Caley Thistle last season. ‘There are some similarities,’ admitted Wilson. ‘County are sitting on a similar amount of points compared with the position of Inverness at this time last year.
‘Where things are different is that Inverness gave Richie Foran the benefit of the doubt, probably to their cost as it didn’t work out. There is no shame in that.
‘That’s why I really do applaud Owen for resigning because he could quite easily have sat there and accepted his money.
‘For the next man, there are only three points separating County from Partick Thistle, so they are far from out of it.
‘And, having watched the Championship quite a bit this year, I wouldn’t fear the play-offs too much, particularly the way they are set up in favour of the Premiership team.
‘I would fancy whoever finishes 11th in the Premiership to hang on.’
Career path has wandered off track from its immense early promise