Owen Coyle's 2nd anniversary at Burnley: Gaffer lets us express ourselves, says Elliott

6:10pm Wednesday 18th November 2009

By Suzanne Geldard

OWEN Coyle may only just be about to celebrate two years in charge at Burnley, but his name has already been etched in Clarets folklore.

Better still, as far as his players are concerned, they owe him one of the greatest days of their lives.

Wade Elliott’s team-mates might feel the same about the midfielder himself, after the 30-year-old fired Burnley into the Premier League with a wonderful play-off final winner over Sheffield United.

“I’ve said before that he’s been terrific for all of us. When he came, the first thing he said was he wanted us to go out and express ourselves, be positive, that there would be no comeback if we made mistakes trying to do the right thing,” he revealed.

“That probably sums up his ethos, aside from what’s come with him getting us promoted.

“We’ll all look back on the last year as one of the defining moments of our careers – possibly our lives – so that will be the legacy we’re all left with when we finish playing.

“We’ll be very grateful to him for that, but over and above that, everyone just enjoys coming into work every day, it’s a great atmosphere, a great dressing room, the gaffer’s very positive and upbeat, doesn’t get carried away when we’ve had a win, or a bad result.

“We’re fortunate enough to be doing what we’re doing anyway, but to come and do it in the environment we’re in, we’re fortunate to have a gaffer that let’s us come in and do that.”

Elliott added: “I’ve been pretty lucky, I’ve only really had three managers and I’ve been pretty fortunate with all of them since I’ve been a pro.

“But the gaffer sets a tone about the place, it’s a happy place to come to, I think you can see it, and I think that vibrancy and buoyancy is evident in our play.

“It’s not just about the dressing room, but the whole club, and even the supporters, you can sense how much they’re enjoying it.” Elliott has been an almost ever-present under Coyle who, on arrival from St Johnstone, made securing the former Bournemouth winger on a new deal a priority.

His game has since been taken on to another level in a central midfield role, thanks to his manager’s intuition.

“The gaffer gives you that confidence, but he does that in deeds as well,” said Elliott.

“A lot of the time in football you get told what you can’t do, you’re not good at this, you’re not good at that, but he’s brilliant in telling you what you’re good at and really focusing on those positives and bringing those strengths out of players.

“He said ‘you can go and play in there because you give us this and that’, and it’s been terrific for me.

“I’ve enjoyed playing in there and hopefully I’ve done a decent job for the side.

“It gives you that responsibility as well, if you’re in the middle and the game’s not quite going the way you’d like it, you’re at the hub of it and are responsible for getting a grip of it and trying to change the shape of it.

“Everyone in midfield is obviously at the centre of things, but it’s nice to have that responsibility.”