Coyle ready for return to Burnley

BOLTON // Owen Coyle, the Bolton Wanderers manager, claims he would never have left Burnley last season if his decision had been governed purely by emotion. Coyle, who got Burnley promoted to the Premier League in 2009, departed Turf Moor in January to take over at Bolton. The 44-year-old makes his first return to the stadium tonight when the two sides meet in the Carling Cup third round, and Coyle insists he would still be in charge at Burnley if he had let his heart rule his head.

"If it was just down to emotion, and emotion alone, I would never have left Burnley," Coyle said. "But I had to look at the bigger picture and I made a footballing decision because of the infrastructure and everything else at Bolton. I'd been here as a player and I knew everything that goes with that as well, and that was how it was made. "Was it emotional leaving? Absolutely. Will it be emotional tomorrow night? Of course it will. I wouldn't be evasive or try to get away from that. But regardless of how I'm treated tomorrow night or the reception that I get, nothing will ever take away from the feeling I have for Burnley. It goes without saying."

* Press Association