Owen Coyle: Queen's Park manager steps down

Patrick score against Queen's ParkSNS

The defeat against Patrick was the second heartbreaking setback in a week for Coyle and Queen's Park

Owen Coyle has stepped down as head coach of Championship side Queen's Park three days after they were knocked out of the Scottish Premiership play-offs.

They lost 8-3 on aggregate to Partick Thistle on Friday, having had a chance of automatic promotion a week earlier.

The 5-3 loss to Dundee, who took the title, meant Coyle's side missed out on a third promotion in a row and a first top-flight campaign since 1957-58.

"It's with a heavy heart that I leave Queen's Park," Coyle said.

"It has been an outstanding last 12 months, winning promotion to the Championship when nobody gave us a chance of doing so then coming so close to winning the league and reaching the SPFL playing exciting and entertaining football.

"Queen's Park is a wonderful club with an amazing set of supporters who I want to personally thank."

Despite vacancies in the top flight, with recently promoted Dundee without a manager and Tayside rivals St Johnstone under interim management, Coyle has told BBC Scotland he has not spoken to other clubs and needs time to recharge his batteries.

The former striker left the Indian Super League - where he coached Chennaiyin and then Jamshedpur - to become Queen's Park head coach in June 2022, although he was appointed in March and oversaw their promotion to the Championship.

It was the former St Johnstone manager's first job in Scotland in four years, following a short spell with Ross County.

Queen's Park were promoted to the 2022-23 Championship after beating Dunfermline Athletic then Airdrieonians as they secured back-to-back promotions.

Chief executive Leeann Dempster said the club are now focussed on finding a successor to the former Bolton and Burnley manager who can continue their policy of nurturing youngsters.

"Although disappointing, we respect Owen's decision and wish him well for the future, and we thank him for his efforts over the last 12 months," she added.

"We now begin the task of finding a new head coach to help us in our aims of being the best club to develop talented young players and achieving success on the pitch."

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