Owen Coyle has turned down the dream in favour of the fantasy.
The Irishman with the Paisley accent could not be tempted to take the reins at his beloved Parkhead, preferring the challenge of helping Burnley, the smallest town ever to boast a Premier League team, survive in the top flight.
The challenge is a fearsome one. Just 13,000 of the Lancashire town’s 85,000 residents regularly attended home games last season.
Those who do attend can be confident that the calibre of player Coyle has attracted this summer suggests they can expect to be entertained.
Coyle is a man of principle, favouring the style which took them to play-off success. He has recruited from a market he is familiar with, Scotland, spending £3 million on Steven Fletcher from Hibernian and signing Hamilton’s Brian Easton as well as bringing in the defender David Edgar from Newcastle.
Tyrone Mears brings a touch of continental elan, having spent last season on loan at Marseille.
Most intriguing of all, though, is the arrival of the Ecuadorean teenage winger Fernando Guerrero from Independiente. Chris Eagles and Wade Elliott will, presumably, remain Coyle’s first choice wide-men, but having an unpredictable, unheralded, unknown quantity to call on may provide Burnley with a crucial element of surprise.
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