Good things come to those that wait

They say good things come to those that wait and in the case of Chris Coyne that wait has been for quite sometime.

FFA Exclusive: They say good things come to those that wait and in the case of Chris Coyne that wait has been for quite sometime.

Coyne, whose brother Jamie plays for Perth Glory in the Hyundai A-League, has been plying his trade in the United Kingdom now for almost a decade and for the first time, he has got his first sniff of the national team.

The Colchester defender received a late call from Pim Verbeek to come into camp, as the squad prepares for the match against Ghana and the AFC World Cup qualifiers throughout June.

“It-s been nice; it-s always been one of my aspirations in the game to represent my country,” he told www.footballaustralia.com.au. “I think it should be everyone-s aspiration and pinnacle of their career and to be given the opportunity to come and train with the boys for the week and see how it goes is fantastic.”

It-s been a long wait for Coyne to finally get the call up, after heading to Europe and signing with West Ham in their youth academy. But after an 18-month spell with Dundee in the Scottish Premier League, Coyne returned to England to sign with League Two side Luton Town, where he spent six and half seasons before his move to Colchester in January of this year.

“It has been a long time coming - 7-8 years now - but I have been pushing and working hard in Europe to try and get some sort of recognition and I am now fortunate enough that my transfer to Colchester seemed to give me that back over here in Australia.

“I went from West Ham to Dundee in the Scottish Premier League and the went to Luton who were in the 2nd Division (League Two) at the time. They were spending money at the time to go back up, which we did immediately.

“But we worked hard to get up to the Championship; I think it took three years in League One. Down there you really struggle for recognition, because it-s obviously not publicised as much as the Premier League and Championship.”

The last two seasons though have no been memorable for the born and bred Perth lad, firstly suffering relegation with Luton from the Championship and then after a January transfer to Colchester, the same fate happened to them.

It was also frustrating because at the same time he was suffering from injuries, which forced him to miss a lot of matches.

“It was (very frustrating) at Luton, because I was captain,” he said. “I was very disappointed, but I think I only played 11 games that season due to injury and it probably wasn-t as much of a blow as it should have been. If I had played 40 odd games then it would have been a bigger kick in the teeth.

“Likewise at Colchester, I only went there in January and only had three months of that battle and unfortunately it didn-t work out results wise. To be fair, injuries played a big part, because we had a large amount of the squad out.

“I felt a bit disconnected from it, because I wasn-t involved week in, week out with all the games, but still massively disappointed because when you are at a club you want to play at the highest level; you can then push onwards and upwards.”

Coyne still has three years left at Colchester on his contract and is happy to stay and help the club regain its place in the Championship.

“Its up to me to get back there, roll my sleeves up and make sure we get promoted back there (to the Championship) next year.”

So where does he think he is at football wise?

“Everyone-s says you reach your peak at around 27-28, but I certainly feel that I am coming to a good age. I think you get a bit wiser as you get older and you know more about your game and body as well.

“I have come into a bit of form recently, but I was unfortunate about 18 months ago, I went through, as everyone does, an eight-month spell of injury and touchwood for me I have been 12 months virtually injury free and really enjoying my football again.”

Coyne still harbours the dream to play in the Premier League and hopes he can impress here and perhaps get a game or two with the Socceroos over the next month. He knows it will be tough, but at the very least he has had a week to show what he is capable of.

“It-s an opportunity to realise an ambition; it-s an opportunity to further my career and show people what I am capable of. It-s just making the most of the experience and making sure I put my best foot forward.

“I have been given an opportunity by the management to stake a claim and it-s up to me as an individual as well as a squad member to show that I have something to give back to the Socceroos.”

His other footballing ambition is one day play alongside his brother Jamie, not just for a club but hopefully for the national team as well.

“It would be nice to play local football with him and go on and play national football with him. I don-t know how many brothers have done that, but the first thing I did when I heard (about this camp) was call Jamo (Jamie), because I am very close with him.

“I was surprised he didn-t get picked, because I know he was in the last squad and by all accounts he-s had an excellent season. He is coming into his peak now, he-s 25, injury free now and hopefully he can get a call up as well.”