Celtic have had a number of high-profile managers take the reins of the club since the turn of the century.
Martin O’Neill was the man who kicked off the success the Celtic fans have enjoyed over the last 24 years after he joined the club in 2000.
And I think it’s fair to say that O’Neill’s tenure was the springboard to the success the Celtic fans enjoy to this day.
After O’Neill, Gordon Strachan took over the reins and carried on that mantle by delivering huge success not only domestically, but also on the European stage as he took the club to the last 16 of the Champions League.
Following Strachan, it was Tony Mowbray. The former Celtic defender’s brand of attacking football appealed to the Parkhead board but he just couldn’t get the team firing or playing during his disappointing nine-month spell at the club.
But, it seems that Mowbray wasn’t Celtic’s first choice to take over from Strachan in 2009 after what Owen Coyle has just divulged.
Why Owen Coyle ‘turned down’ Celtic
At that time, Coyle had just guided Burnley from the English Championship to the Premier League and Celtic approached him to take over from Strachan that summer.
As cited by The Scottish Sun, Coyle told BBC Sportsound, “I turned the Celtic job down in 2009. People don’t realise that.
“I was the Burnley manager and Gordon Strachan had just resigned from Celtic and I obviously was doing fantastic with Burnley, I took them to the Premier League, and was offered the job.
“I’ve got to say my initial reaction was to say yes I want to take the job.
“And what I actually had to do was to take the emotion out of the decision because my kids were a lot younger at that time.
“As a family we sat down and spoke about it with my wife and discussed whether we wanted to bring the kids back into that environment with the age they were at.
“Had they been a little bit older we probably would of.
“But I was in the best league in the world, playing against the Chelsea’s and Manchester United’s every week.
“And ultimately that’s why I made the decision not to.
“I think then Tony Mowbray was appointed subsequently after that.”
Coyle has no Celtic ‘regrets’
A Celtic fan growing up, it must have been difficult for Coyle to reject that opportunity but now managing Chennaiyin in the Indian Super League, the former Airdrie striker says he has no regrets about his decision.
Coyle continued, “I don’t think you have any regrets because when you make the decisions at the time, those are the decisions.
“As a kid growing up, would it be the dream to manage Glasgow Celtic? Absolutely because it’s my team and it always will be and that goes without saying.
“But you make those decisions and you make them for the best reasons.”
No one knows if Coyle would have been a success at Celtic and if he was, the course of the club’s history could have been altered.
Because if Coyle was a successful Celtic manager, the fans may not have seen Neil Lennon lead the team to beat Barcelona in 2012. There might not have been another nine in a row or even a Quadruple Treble.
Ange Postecoglou may never have become the manager and Brendan Rodgers could have never realised his dream of managing Celtic, twice!
It’s funny how things work out, isn’t it?
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