Not sure if I would agree that relegation would not have affected his reputation. A look at Phil Brown at Hull would suggest that regardless of his previous achievments in taking the club from way down the leagues to near the top of the Premiership, as his team began to slide down the table he began to come in for much criticism. His manegerial stock rose with his team and then fell with his team. Owen Coyle was unlikely to get a really big job on the basis of what he did at Burnley and when the offer came to go to an established - albeit struggling - Premiership team came he took it. He knows he may not get another crack at it. The real big jobs in the Premiership don't come around too often and the truth is that few, if any, chairmen at the top clubs would have the bravery required to pick a Burnley or Blackburn or Stoke manager to be their next boss. Owen Coyle took a pragmatic decision to take a job which he felt would give him a longer crack at the Premiership. His first job is to keep Bolton in it and he will likely do what is necessary to do that. Next summer if he stays up he can build the team he wants with the style he wants. I hope he gets the chance.

What did he know about Burnley which made him walk away I wonder? Another good blog. Look forward to more from you.