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Owen Coyle has revealed that his main regret from his time managing Bolton Wanderers was getting too close to the players. There were times he felt he couldn't drop players because they were his friends.
Coyle spoke exclusively to Natasha's mole..."I have always been a players manager, one of the lads you might say. I eat with the players, laugh with the players, shit with the players. It was great for team morale but made it difficult to drop certain players."
Coyle remembers one particularly awkward situation..."Zat Knight had just had another awful game, gifting the game to the opposition, and I really wanted to leave him out. But he'd invited me to his sons bar mitzvah the following day, and not just a sausage roll and vol-au-vents bash, it was properly catered and everything. How could I leave him out at Wolves?"
Coyle is almost whispering now but he continues..."I introduced Ping-Pong tournaments to get some fighting spirit into the team, unfortunately it backfired as most of the players turned out to be better Ping-Pong players than footballers. They preferred to practise hitting balls to each other and I didn't have the heart to get them back on the football pitch.
Coyle has vowed not to make the same mistake twice and has begged Graham Barrow to stay on at Wigan, and not follow Roberto Martinez to Everton. He sees Barrow as the link between the players and the manager.
"I really don't want to find myself on Sam Ricketts sofa again, placing my car keys in a bowl" says Coyle.
Coyle spoke exclusively to Natasha's mole..."I have always been a players manager, one of the lads you might say. I eat with the players, laugh with the players, shit with the players. It was great for team morale but made it difficult to drop certain players."
Coyle remembers one particularly awkward situation..."Zat Knight had just had another awful game, gifting the game to the opposition, and I really wanted to leave him out. But he'd invited me to his sons bar mitzvah the following day, and not just a sausage roll and vol-au-vents bash, it was properly catered and everything. How could I leave him out at Wolves?"
Coyle is almost whispering now but he continues..."I introduced Ping-Pong tournaments to get some fighting spirit into the team, unfortunately it backfired as most of the players turned out to be better Ping-Pong players than footballers. They preferred to practise hitting balls to each other and I didn't have the heart to get them back on the football pitch.
Coyle has vowed not to make the same mistake twice and has begged Graham Barrow to stay on at Wigan, and not follow Roberto Martinez to Everton. He sees Barrow as the link between the players and the manager.
"I really don't want to find myself on Sam Ricketts sofa again, placing my car keys in a bowl" says Coyle.
