OWEN AND OUT
Coyle takes leave of bottom club County
OWEN COYLE’S brief and ill-fated tenure as Ross County boss came to a shock end last night as he left the Staggies adrift at the foot of the Premiership table.
Stuart Kettlewell, the club’s development squad manager, is now poised to take the reins until the end of the season.
A mere five months after taking the helm, 51-year-old Coyle’s surprise resignation was announced in a brief statement. It came a few hours after he had completed his regular media duties ahead of tomorrow’s scheduled visit of fellow strugglers Partick Thistle, with no indication of what was to follow.
The former Burnley, Bolton and Wigan manager — who once ruled himself out of the running for the Celtic job in order to take the Turf Moor side into the Premier League — said it was ‘in everyone’s best interests’ for him to step down.
He declared in a statement on
the club website: ‘Myself and the chairman had a chat on Monday and after some reflective thought I felt for the good of Ross County — and the challenging situation with my family being in England — it was in everyone’s best interests for me to offer my resignation, which the chairman duly accepted.’ Both Coyle and assistant Sandy Stewart left the club with immediate effect, with chairman Roy MacGregor offering the briefest of praise for the departing pair. ‘We thank Owen and Sandy for their time at Ross County Football Club and wish them well for the future,’ he stated. Coyle’s predecessor Jim McIntyre led County to a seventh-placed finish in the Premiership last season, having previously steered them to League Cup glory and a top-six finish, but was sacked in September with the team lying tenth in the table. Chairman McGregor immediately drafted in experienced coach Coyle but the club did not receive the bounce they were expecting from his appointment. Although he did secure three victories in his first six matches, the Staggies have won only once in their subsequent 16 games under his command. They are currently anchored at the bottom of the league, three points behind tomorrow’s opponents Partick. The last straw appears to have been last Saturday’s limp 2-0 defeat to St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park. The County players were summoned to a meeting with MacGregor last night where, it is believed, former County midfielder Kettlewell was named as Coyle’s temporary successor for the remainder of the campaign.