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Owen Coyle took Houston Dynamo job over 'six, seven' other offers

Former Burnley and Bolton manager Owen Coyle bristled at inferences that the stateside league was career suicide and said that he turned down "six, seven jobs" before settling on the head coaching job at Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo, according to a report.

"That's not a concern of mine because when all's said and done I couldn't care less what that visibility is or isn't," the 48-year-old, whose hiring was announced earlier this week, told The Guardian.

"Because the bottom line is I'm here at Houston Dynamo to do the job here, that's my only visibility, the vision to be successful here."

Coyle, who took Burnley into the Premier League in 2009, said he gained his appreciation for MLS after bringing English clubs to the United States for preseason training. Upon moving on to Bolton in 2010, he kept the club clear of relegation and led them to another mid-table finish and the semifinals of the FA Cup in 2010-11, his first full season in charge.

He added future Arsenal and Liverpool stars Jack Wilshere and Daniel Sturridge on loan. During a 2011 trip, he scouted and then eventually signed U.S. international Stuart Holden as well as ex-New York Red Bulls defender Tim Ream.

After Bolton were relegated out of the Premier League in 2012, he moved on to Wigan, who were recently relegated from the top division. He left Wigan in December 2013, and said he considered Houston after speaking with club president Chris Canetti after Dominic Kinnear -- the only head coach in Dynamo history -- returned to San Jose.

After leaving Wigan, Coyle had been rumoured to be under consideration at several clubs, including Celtic.

"I've been very fortunate that I've turned down in the last six months six, seven jobs at home and abroad. I didn't think it was the right fit. I've had the experience of working at different clubs and I just felt that the next opportunity that I took I felt had to be the right fit with the right people," he said.

Despite an influx of well-known foreign players in the MLS and more than a dozen British managers in the past, this year the league had only four non-American or Canadian head coaches, according to the report: Carl Robinson, Ryan Nelsen, Oscar Pareja and Wilmer Cabrera.

Former Wolves and Sunderland midfielder Robinson just finished his first year leading the Vancouver Whitecaps, Nelsen was sacked by Toronto while Pareja coached FC Dallas and Cabrera was at the helm of Chivas USA, which was shuttered last month.

"I felt this could be a great opportunity," said Coyle. "I come in here very humble, very grounded, very balanced, knowing there's a huge challenge. I don't come in here telling you that I know everything about the MLS. I come telling you there's loads of stuff I can learn, I'm receptive to that.

"This league is going to be one of the biggest leagues in the world in years to come... I want to be a part of that."

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