The Scotland-born Owen, who guided Jamshedpur to win the ISL League Winners' Shield, has already informed the team management that he wants to spend time with his family and that he was not keen on renewal of his 2-year contract, However, the Tata Steel-owned club is very keen to retain the 55----year-old him and has requested Owen to reconsider.
Owen met and presented the League Winners' Shield to JFC chairman Chanakya Chaudhary in Jamshedpur on Thursday and told him that he no longer want his contract to be renewed. But JFC wants Coyle, a successful coach who helped the club to reach the ISL playoffs for the first time, to remain with the club.
Jamshedpur FC chief executive officer Mukul Choudhari said they have requested Owen to reconsider his decision against renewal of his contract. "Owen said he wants to spend time with his family and would like to live and mentor a football club in Scotland. It is Owen's personal issue and we have to respect it because he (Owen) has given us much in the ISL. But we have requested him to stay with us. Owen told us that he stays away from his family most of the time due to his coaching assignment. But, keeping our request in mind, he (Owen) has said he would talk to his family and inform us accordingly. Let's see how things take shape. We're keeping our fingers crossed," he added.
Owen has an offer from Scottish 3rd division club Queen's Park. The club is near his home in Scotland.
Coyle recently led the Men of Steel to the ISL League Winners’ Shield glory for the first time in the history of the club. While the team went out on a whimper in the playoffs, losing 2-1 in aggregate against Kerala Blasters, the Jamshedpur management were keen to retain the Scottish manager for another season.
Queen's Park are without a full-time manager since sacking Laurie Ellis on December 31, and interim manager Marijn Beuker is currently in charge of the proceedings.
The team is currently occupying the fourth position in the Scottish League One standings and have offered Owen a role in a bid to guarantee their promotion to the Scottish Championship.
At least three ISL clubs, including Bengaluru FC, Odisha FC and Chennaiyin FC, have offered contracts to Owen, a tactician who delivers. He joined Jamshedpur by replacing Spanish coach Antonio Iriondo in August 2020. In the past year and a half, the Scotsman has managed 42 games for the Red Miners, of which his team has emerged victorious on 20 occasions.
Before coming to India, Coyle managed many reputed clubs in the likes of Blackburn Rovers, Burnley and Wigan Athletic. He joined Chennaiyin back in 2019.
