Owen Coyle Confirmed As New Wigan Athletic Manager: Daily Soccer Report

Owen Coyle has been confirmed as the new manager of Wigan Athletic to replace Roberto Martinez, says Wigan chairman and owner Dave Whelan.

Here’s what Whelan told talkSPORT today:

“If anyone can get us back to the Premier League, I think Owen is the manager to do it.”

“I thought he was the best candidate we had to choose from. We have had some very, very good candidates and it is never an easy job selecting a new manager because a manager can have good luck or bad luck and you can choose the right one or the wrong one.

“A lot of people in Wigan will have seen Owen Coyle at Bolton and think, ‘oh, Bolton sacked him, why would he come to Wigan?’ But they have to know the man and his capabilities and he has got some real good quality. He did so well at Burnley. He got Burnley into the Premier League.

“The meetings I have had with him have gone very well. He obviously trusts me and I am putting my faith in him. Hopefully, we can fight our way back into the Premier League.

“The priority is getting back to the Premier League. Europe is not the priority and, while we are proud to represent England in that European League, it is not our priority. Getting back to the Premier League over two years [is our priority] and it may take that time.”

Let’s hope that Coyle’s managerial record, this time, will be better than the last time he switched positions to manage a club in the North West. In 2010, he quit Burnley mid-season to manage Bolton Wanderers. At the end of the 2009-10 season, he kept Bolton up but Burnley were relegated. And then at the end of the 2011-12 season, Coyle’s Bolton side were relegated from the Premier League. He was later sacked in October, 2012 after a poor run of form in the Championship.

For all of Dave Whelan’s talk in the press about Wigan having close to 50 applicants for the job, and a plethora of managerial choices to choose from including Rene Meulensteen, Steve McClaren, Mike Phelan and many more, it’s puzzling that Whelan chose Coyle. For the Scot, it’s a chance for redemption. It’s his third Lancashire club he’ll be managing in succession. Let’s see if he can make it third time lucky.

Here are today’s world soccer news headlines:

Football League

• Dave Whelan has confirmed that Owen Coyle will be named the replacement for Martinez — Telegraph
• Coventry City administrator Paul Appleton announces four bids — BBC Sport
• Tim Ream to stay and fight for Bolton place, says agent — Lion Of Vienna

Premier League

• Antolin Alcaraz set to become Roberto Martinez’s first signing as Everton manager — Independent
• Chelsea pass up Cavani and turn attentions to Robert Lewandowski — Telegraph
• Concerns over David Moyes’ training methods cause Meulensteen to reject job at Man United — Independent
• Man City confident Pellegrini contract hitch will be resolved in next 24 hours — Telegraph
• Fouls in Premier League have dropped by 22% since 2006 — BBC Sport
• Real Madrid set to beat Manchester City to Malaga playmaker Isco [AS] — 101GG
• Cavani in talks with Man City & Chelsea says mom, but he wants to go to Real Madrid says dad — Independent
• Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Corinthians midfielder Paulinho — Evening Standard
• Swansea boss Laudrup turned down the PSG job as he was offered just a 1-year deal — 101GG
• Sunderland are reportedly interested in signing Uruguayan striker Abel Hernandez — Sky Sports
• Swansea City chairman Huw Jenkins meeting agents in bid to land signings — Evening Post
• Cardiff City midfielder Aron Gunnarsson is expected to be fit for the start of the new season — Sky Sports
• Paul Gascoigne launches libel action against Daily Star — The Guardian
• Arsenal match in Vietnam in doubt after stadium owners hike fees — The Independent
• Claudio Marchisio has admitted he is “proud” to be linked with Manchester United — Sky Sports
• Marseille could put Arsenal fans out of their Gervinho misery — Evening Standard

NASL

• Marcos Senna signs with New York Cosmos – Sports Illustrated

Serie A

• Walter Samuel thrilled to sign new Inter Milan contract — ESPN FC
• Udinese full-back Mauricio Isla is likely to join Inter Milan this summer — Sky Sports

La Liga

• Malaga have appointed Bernd Schuster as the successor to Manuel Pellegrini — ESPN FC
• Real Sociedad – The Inside Story of La Real’s Rapid Rise — Just Football

International soccer

• Trecker’s Brazilian Travels, Day 2: Architectural colossus — FOX Soccer
• Glenn Hoddle rules out taking England Under-21 job — TalkSport

The Daily Soccer Report is your morning guide to the latest world soccer news headlines, so you don’t have to spend an hour or more scanning the Internet. We do all the work for you. Read The Daily Soccer Report on World Soccer Talk every morning to stay on top of all the news that matters.

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