FOR the first time yesterday, former Clarets manager Owen Coyle was asked for his opinions on Burnley’s relegation from the Premier League.

Here is part of the transcript from the press conference at Bolton’s training ground at Euxton, near Chorley, where the Lancashire Telegraph asked the questions.

Q: Now all the dust has settled can you look at coming to Bolton as the right decision?

OWEN COYLE: Ultimately, whether it is right, wrong or indifferent, a decision is just a decision. When you have made that decision it is about maximising every opportunity you get.

That is what I have always tried to do in my football career.

Whether as a player, a manager or a coach, I have tried to maximise any opportunity I have been given to its full potential.

That is what I came here to do, I don’t think it is as easy as saying it is right or wrong.

The decision was we decided footballing wise to come to a club in the bottom three.

As I say it was a big challenge, we had to make sure we had to elevate ourselves.

If you analyse the whole thing, I dare say a lot of people would have thought I was off my head because I signed three boys, one 18, one 19 and one at 24 and none of them had started a Premier League game.

I had not been in a relegation battle before as a manager, because fortunately I had enjoyed success wherever I had been.

I never spent a penny and managed to achieve that short-term goal.

Q: Did you have mixed feelings on Sunday when Burnley went down?

OC: I think about those boys every day and everybody at the football club – it was such a special time in my career – and I always will.

When I left, I still believe the football team was good enough to stay in the Premier League and of course it saddens me, no doubt about it.

Q: Do you feel any responsibility towards Burnley’s ultimate fate?

OC: Responsibility? Whatever I say is never going to be the right thing anyway.

I can only look at the facts. I left the football club when they were in 14th with 20 points.

It is important when everyone looks at it they give balance and recognise the job we did within those two years.

We came into a club that were in the bottom half of the Championship, we sold players to the value of £5million and then spent £3m of that.

That is a plus £2m in building a team and taking them into the Premier League.

That is unheard of probably. We did that on the back of two great cup runs as well which provided the club with unbelievable finances, which they needed.

I remember taking the job at Burnley and within a week I went to the AGM and they had posted a £3.5m loss.

It was always going to be difficult but we all, and I say we, bought into what we were doing.

The last home game before I took the job at Burnley they had a crowd of 10,000, the average this year has been between 20 and 25,000. We took 36,000 to Wembley.

There has been loads of stuff said since I left, not by me, I kept a dignified silence and got on with it.

What everyone wants to say is up to them, but what I will say is every second and every moment I was in that job I poured my heart and soul into it.

The same as I am doing at Bolton Wanderers and the same as I did as player.

I think if anybody looks and knows how hard you have worked in that job, then you know you have given it your best.

I accept people are disappointed I have left. Absolutely.

It wasn’t easy. I totally accept that because everyone bought in what we were doing.

The success we had wasn’t just Owen Coyle, yes that played a part, but we all, players, staff and fans alike, turned Turf Moor into a fortess.

On leaving we had lost one league game in the Premier League this year at home against Wigan and I would argue until the cows came home we wouldn’t have lost that game either had it not been for a freak injury to Brian Jensen when we were 1-0 up.

We had had them all and our performances were outstanding.

I accept we hadn’t done well away from home, there were reasons for that, but what we had shown was we were capable of beating anybody.

Q: Do you think you could have kept them up? OC: Whatever I say is not the right thing for a lot of people here.

What I do know is they are a terrific group of players, they are an unbelievable set of fans. They are so passionate it is a unique club it really is.

What I would say is we would have given it a really good go.

It is totally hypothetical because you don’t know what would have happened, but we would certainly have given it a go.

Q: Do you accept you left them a bad hand when you left?

OC: I accept I left at a bad time. With regards to a bad hand, there are two ways of looking at it.

The quote from the chairman was Brian hadn’t been dealt a great hand.

I took that as a compliment because of the job we had done beforehand.

That is my reading of it. I took that as a compliment and it was always going to difficult following on from the unprecedented success we had at that football club.

Q: You could have looked daft if Bolton had gone down?

OC: That was always going to be a possibility, because we were in the bottom three, we were not there by accident.

We were there because we didn’t have enough points.

There was huge doubt about whether Bolton would be in the Premier League but it was a challenge I was up for and that is why we took it on.

I can’t say it was easy. It wasn’t. I still think about the football club every day and what we did there.

There is no doubt, it was tough but it happened and we had to get on with it.

I have always gone by my gut feelings and I have never been afraid to make the tough decisions, that is why we are employed in the jobs we have because there are tough decisions to make.

Everybody had their opinion on it.

There was so much stuff written on it, with all due respect, from people who didn’t even know me, or know the situations involved.

People from outside looking in had a pop but we got on with it and took it on board.

One thing I do know is I am a far better manager for it.

I don’t have all the answers. I am a young manager, trying to make my way to be the best I can and year on year I will keep on improving.

Q: You are a Premier League manager next year. Was that the main reason in the decision?

OC: When all is said and done, you ask any manager, any player and if they don’t aspire to be the highest level at whatever field they operate then I would suggest they won’t do very well at their job.

Everyone knows my aspirations. It was the same when I was a player.

I wasn’t the best player in the world but I wanted to play at the highest level possible. It is the same as a manager.

Everyone knows how ambitious I am and how driven I am to be the best I can be.