Jamshedpur FC sign Owen Coyle as head coach for 2020-21 season

It will be the second season in the Indian top flight for the tactician.

Former Chennaiyin FC manager Owen Coyle has made a surprising switch ahead of the 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) season by putting pen to paper to take charge as head coach of Jamshedpur FC. Khel Now had earlier revealed that the former Marina Machans' boss is in advanced talks with the Men of Steel.

Despite taking the Marina Machans to the ISL final in the 2019-20 campaign, after a stunning turnaround in the second half of the campaign, Owen Coyle has opted to venture on a different journey to manage another underdog side in the ISL.

Khel Now has learnt that it’s a two-year contract, but the second year of his deal can be made null and void if the Men of Steel perform poorly in the first season under Owen Coyle. He has agreed to a performance-based contract at the club, which is a fairly new concept in the Indian top flight.

Speaking on the developments, an official told the Times of India, “Jamshedpur FC are betting big on their coach this season and there’s no better candidate than Coyle at the moment."

“He’s proved himself in good measure last season with Chennaiyin FC and remains the safest bet. There is no reason to believe he cannot succeed at Jamshedpur.”

The former Bolton Wanderers boss took over at Chennaiyin in December 2019 and propped them up from the bottom half of the ISL into the playoffs. From that position, the Marina Machans managed to defeat league leaders FC Goa in the last four, before falling to a narrow defeat against ATK in the ISL final.

ALSO READ: Albert Roca: Hyderabad FC not scared of the challenge that lies ahead

However with Chennaiyin FC looking for a change in direction, Coyle opted to join another team where he’ll get full license to make best use of talented domestic players. The 54-year-old definitely has a host of options to choose from at Jamshedpur FC and it remains to be seen how the likes of Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Narender Gahlot and Aniket Jadhav develop under his tutelage.

This will be Coyle’s second season in the ISL and one in which he has a better understanding of how to thrive in the league. As long as Jamshedpur can make a couple of prolific foreign signings and tailor their squad to his needs, the Men of Steel could be prominent challengers for a top four finish in the forthcoming season.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Twitter and join our community on Telegram.