chipped in with a goal in a 2–0 Wanderers win. International Although born in Scotland, Coyle represented the Republic of Ireland under-21 team. Regarding his choice to represent Ireland, Coyle stated "My ambition was to play at the highest level possible and, if I'm being totally honest, I didn't and still don't think I would have been good enough to play for Scotland. But the Irish watched me play six or seven times for Dumbarton and my first game for them was actually against Scotland." Coyle's debut was in February 1987; he opened the scoring within two minutes, with Scotland going on to win 4–1. Coyle made two substitute appearances (replacing David Kelly each time) for Republic of Ireland B against England B: at Turners Cross in Cork on 27 March 1990, and at Anfield on 13 December 1994. Coyle went on to earn one full international cap for the Republic of Ireland team, in a friendly match played against the Netherlands in Tilburg in April 1994. The match ended in a 1–0 victory for the Republic, with Coyle coming on to replace the goalscorer Tommy Coyne in the 83rd minute. Managerial career St Johnstone In April 2005, Coyle was named as the new manager of St Johnstone. In March 2006, he was awarded Manager of the Month for the Scottish First Division for his team's performance. Coyle led St Johnstone to a 2–0 victory over Rangers at Ibrox to reach the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup. It was their first win over the Glasgow club at Ibrox in 35 years. St Johnstone lost 3–1 after extra time to Hibernian in that semi-final. Saints also reached the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup thanks to away wins against SPL clubs Falkirk and Motherwell, but lost 2–1 to Celtic at Hampden in the semi-final. In the same season, Saints also competed for the First Division championship and promotion to the SPL. On 30 March 2007, Coyle was awarded his second Scottish First Division Manager of the Month award of the 2006–07 season. Saints took the title fight with Gretna to the final day of the season, and only a last minute goal by James Grady that gave Gretna victory at Ross County denied Saints promotion. Coyle signed a one-year extension to his contract with St Johnstone in July 2007, which would have kept him at the club until the end of