Former Socceroos defender Chris Coyne will take the reins of the WA State team for a challenge match against his former club Perth Glory at Dalmatinac Park on Wednesday, August 13.

The game, which kicks off at 7pm, represents another milestone for Coyne, who has shot to prominence as a coach after a playing career which included spells at English clubs West Ham United, Colchester United and Luton Town and Scottish side Dundee before returning to WA to play for Glory.

Coyne turned his hand to coaching with Bayswater City last year with immediate success and is now looking forward to testing his mettle against Hyundai A-League club Melbourne Victory in a Westfield FFA Cup match at the WA Athletics Stadium on August 20.

Before then, he will take charge of the WA State team in a fixture that will assist in Glory’s preparations for the new A-League season, which they kick-off away to Wellington Phoenix in October.

“We’re heading into a busy period of the season,” Coyne said. “There are only a few weeks of the NPL WA regular season before the finals and the FFA Cup is not too far off either. But it’s an absolute honour for me to have been asked to coach the State team.

“It’s always a bit of juggling act for clubs when the State team plays a game because of the workload on players, who are coming towards the end of the season.

“But the reaction has been good and I’m sure the players will see it as a special achievement to pull on the black and gold strip and play for WA.”

Since kicking off with Bayswater in 2013, Coyne has led the team to successive Cool Ridge Cup victories, back-to-back Night Series titles and a grand final win last season. He is determined to build on his early success and aims to take his coaching career further.

“I’ve been involved in football all my life and I was always going to stay in the game after my playing days,” Coyne said.

“And, so far, moving into coaching has been working out well for me. Bayswater is a very good club where we’ve got a good committee and a strong football department working together to achieve success.”

Football West technical director Cris Ola said Coyne was an obvious choice to take on the State job, despite the coaching depth in WA.

“Chris was the Ron Tindall Coach of the Year in 2013 and he continues to be consistent in his coaching approach,” Ola said.

“For the past two seasons he has had a big influence on how Bayswater play and they’re now one of the most competitive and consistent teams in the National Premier Leagues WA.

“Chris is also an FFA B Licence coach and he’s very keen to progress and continue to update his coaching accreditation.” 

WA State team v Perth Glory

Wednesday, August 13

7pm kick-off

At Dalmatinac Park, Azelia Road, Spearwood