Coyle relishes Euro action

Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle is using the goal of European football to motivate himself and the players at the Reebok Stadium.

Coyle, 44, joined Bolton from Burnley in January last year. The Scotsman has guided the team to seventh in the Premier League table and the last four of the FA Cup.There are eight games left in the league, with an FA Cup semi-final against Stoke City still to come. Bolton are in a strong position to claim a Europa League place, and former St Johnstone boss Coyle believes that continental competition represents the highest stage for both players and coaches.”As a manager you want to push yourselves to the maximum and your players to the maximum and try to get that bit better,” Coyle told The People.”Something like European football should be cherished. Football is still the same game wherever it is played. You just go up a level and deal with better players.””But you want that because it makes you better. Some of the players here are capable of playing for any club. And I mean any club.”Coyle cited the example of Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp, managing in the Champions League for the first time this season at the age of 64, as an inspiration. “European football is a great goal for any manager,” he said. “Look at Harry Redknapp, he has been a great manager for years but you can see from his face how he is loving the involvement of Champions League.””Even at this stage of his career he has probably become a better manager for the experience.”