Ex-Hatter Chris Coyne: I won't be showing my kids any highlights of Premier League debut for West Ham

Although former Luton defender Chris Coyne has done what most of us can only dream of, make an appearance in the Premier League, it won’t be a game he is rushing to show his kids any time soon.

The Australian centre half had started out at Perth SC as a teenager before heading to England and West Ham, then managed by Harry Redknapp in 1996, aged 18.

He had four years at Upton Park, spending time on loan at both Brentford and Southend, before being put on the bench for one of the Hammers' final home games of the season against Leeds United on May 1, 1999.

The hosts had a poor start, 1-0 down inside 60 seconds, Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink scoring, before striker Ian Wright was sent off with just 16 minutes on the clock.

Alan Smith made it 2-0 to United, but West Ham showed signs of life, Paolo Di Canio pulling one back by the interval.

Matters soon got worse for Redknapp's men, keeper Shaka Hislop seeing red on the hour mark as Hammers were down to nine men, Ian Harte converting the resulting penalty.

Lee Bowyer (78) and Alfie Inge Haaland (79) made it 5-1, as Coyne then got his moment with seven minutes to go, replacing Di Canio, as West Ham were to finish with eight players, Steve Lomas dismissed in the closing stages,

Recalling the afternoon to the Luton News, Coyne said: “I was on loan to Southend at the time, got called back on the Thursday and was on the bench again.

“I’d been on the bench on numerous occasions, but never come on, then went down to nine, I came on and then we had another player sent off.

“I was proud to have got on the pitch for the first team, I’d worked hard for it, but it’s one of them you put in the memory bank and just park it, it’s not something I’ll be showing the kids!”

On just how Coyne actually made it all the way from his home country to ply his trade in England, and at Upton Park initially, he continued: “I went away to the Youth World Cup with the national team and then went to West Ham, I had a really good apprenticeship there.

“I was was fortunate enough to come through the system and then for whatever reason, whether I was good enough or not, people like Rio (Ferdinand), Michael Carrick, Joe Cole and Frank Lampard were all coming through at the same time, so I probably wasn’t as good as them.

“I missed an opportunity, but everyone finds their level at some point.”

Coyne did just that, leaving Upton Park in March 2000, going to Scottish Premier League side Dundee where he made 28 appearances during his 18 months at the club.

It was a great time for him, as he felt he made big strides forwards as a player, saying: “I then had a couple of years up in Scotland, which was highly enjoyable, a good education for me.

“The SPL was obviously a lot better at that point, as when I went there, you’re playing against some very, very good teams.

"I was fortunate, as the Dundee team I was in, you had ex-real Madrid players, had Claudia Caniggia (Argentinian international) in there, so we were a very good team.

“Then you’re going away and playing Celtic or Rangers where every single name on the teamsheet is a household name.

"So in terms of being a 19, 20-year-old, that learning curve was big for me and I enjoyed every minute of it.

It wasn't long before Coyne was on his way back down south again though and moving to Kenilworth Road after an encounter with Steve Howard during a pre-season clash against the Hatters alerted the attentions of then Town chief Joe Kinnear.

He added: “Luton were up in Scotland pre-season and we played Luton when I was at Dundee and I did okay.

"I got in a couple of tussles with Steve Howard as well, I think that was his first pre-season at the club and we were belting the living daylights out of each other.

"Then the phone call came from there, 'would you be interested in coming down?' And I’ll be honest with you, as soon as I spoke to Mick (Harford) and Joe (Kinnear) , I just knew it was the right thing for me to do.

"It was a young team, 'we’re going to do this, we’re going to do that, we’re bringing these players in, you’re all going to be a very similar age,' and true to their word, everything they said, came true.

“Being in north east London for six, seven years before that Luton wasn’t very far away from where I was staying, so I was well aware of them.

"Obviously the astroturf pitches at Kenilworth Road, that carried its own history doesn’t it too?”

Coyne's move to Luton turned out to be a hugely successful one as he made 252 appearances, scoring 16 goals, with the Hatters winning promotion to the Championship in the 2004-05 campaign.

He admitted that playing for Kinnear was a brilliant experience, adding: "I loved playing for Joe.

"The whole time I was at the club I had no issues, the club was superb.

"Joe was a lot different, he was more of an old school manager, we never saw him out in training, but he knew his players inside and out.

"Mick Harford ran training and got the boys up and about, but that doesn’t mean that Joe didn’t run the gaff, he was the gaffer, everyone knew where you stood with Joe and had the utmost respect for him.

"Mick was more of the training, he’d be out there with the boys, and Newelly (Mike Newell) then took a bit more of a hands on approach.

"But man management and the respect for people, if you messed around or you didn’t pull your weight, they’d certainly let you know.

"We were a tough dressing room and it was a well run club.

"So whether it was Joe got you, or whether it was Mick just sat there waiting for you, you were going to get it if you didn’t do your job properly!"