Owen Coyle appointed new Houston Dynamo head coach

Owen Coyle started his managerial career at Falkirk in 2003

Former Wigan manager Owen Coyle has taken over at Houston Dynamo and vowed to prove that foreign coaches can be a success in Major League Soccer.

The Paisley-born 48-year-old, who has been out of work since leaving the DW Stadium last December, has signed a three-year contract with Dynamo.

"Regardless of what competition you are in, if you can coach, you can coach," he told a Houston media conference.

"If I am here to prove a point, I will prove a point."

Coyle, capped once by the Republic of Ireland, replaces Scots-born former United States international Dominic Kinnear, who left the club in October following an eighth-place finish in the Eastern Conference.

He started his managerial career at Falkirk in 2003 before moving to St Johnstone, enjoying his most successful spell at Burnley between 2007 and 2010.

During that time, he guided the Clarets to promotion to England's top flight before a switch to Bolton Wanderers then Wigan.

Coyle pointed out that he had been a keen observer of the MLS and had signed Scottish-born midfielder Stuart Holden for Bolton from Houston as well as United States team-mate Tim Ream from New York Red Bulls.

"I don't know everything about the league, but I know a lot of the teams and the players," he said.

"I brought my teams to the US for pre-season for five or six seasons.

"This is the league that continues to grow more than any other in world football and I'm sure it will become one of the world's top leagues.

Former Rangers midfielder DaMarcus Beasley is being retained this season by Houston Dynamo

"We are not the biggest club in MLS, but they have punched above their weight before and we can do it again."

Coyle, who was linked with Celtic in the summer before Ronny Deila was appointed manager of the Scottish champions, said Dynamo's backroom staff would provide in-depth knowledge of the league.

He was also looking forward to working with new general manager Matt Jordan to "strengthen every part of the team to go toe to toe with the best teams in the league".

Included among the 11 players Houston have announced as their protected list ahead of the annual MLS draft of players is former Rangers wide man DaMarcus Beasley.

Jordan described Coyle as "a person of strong character with a very high level of experience as a coach with an ability to transmit his passion to teams and who has an outstanding ability to lead".

He added: "He also has a strong respect for Major League Soccer, which was critical for us as a team."

Dynamo president Chris Canetti added: "When Owen approached us, this was a lucky opportunity for us to speak with someone of his character and experience."