WANDERERS fans were breathing a collective sigh of relief last night as Owen Coyle was officially unveiled as the club’s new manager.

The long-awaited news broke early in the evening that the Whites had struck a deal over compensation with Burnley over the 43-year-old, who signs a two-and-a-half year deal at the Reebok.

Both clubs were keeping the exact amount of compensation under wraps last night, but The Bolton News understands the seven-figure fee fell significantly short of the £3m figure that the Turf Moor club were initially holding out for.

Coyle’s arrival is a personal victory for Phil Gartside, who had singled out the highly-rated Glaswegian as his number one target to replace Gary Megson from the start.

And the Wanderers chairman could barely hide his delight on announcing the return of the former Burnden Park striker, who scored 23 goals in 55 starts for the club in the mid-nineties.

“I have a list in my bag with 30 names on it, but the only one we wanted was Owen,” he said. “We haven’t interviewed anybody, haven’t contacted anybody. It was only him that we wanted.

“He had to come back here really. He is well known to the place, everyone recognises who Owen Coyle is, and he came from an era that was special to everyone, including me. Bruce Rioch revitalised Bolton Wanderers in the early nineties. That three-year period was special, and Owen was part of that.

“He has always been enthusiastic and always had a smile on his face. He’s infectious, and even though I hadn’t seen him for a long time before this week, he is still infectious — and even more so now.”

Coyle was taken on a brief tour of the club’s facilities with his son yesterday evening, and will meet his new squad for the first time this weekend.

Gartside accompanied the new Whites boss to the training ground at Euxton, the new Academy base at Lostock before he introduced himself to staff at the stadium around 5pm.

His first game in charge will be against Arsenal in the televised Premier League clash a week tomorrow, and in a statement released on the official website, the Paisley-born boss said he was eagerly anticipating a fresh start. He said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be back at Bolton Wanderers. I look forward to the opportunity of bringing the good times back to the club for everyone.”

A decision has yet to be made about the future of his backroom staff at Turf Moor, though both Sandy Stewart and John Henry are heavily tipped to follow him to the Reebok.

Wanderers began their pursuit of Coyle last weekend, when Gartside was granted permission by Burnley to speak with their manager, who had travelled to Scotland to belatedly celebrate New Year with his family after an FA Cup game against MK Dons.

But it came as some surprise to the Clarets when he admitted an interest in taking on the job — prompting an official approach from the Whites. By Wednesday, Burnley chairman Barry Kilby had put Coyle on gardening leave while both clubs haggled over compensation — accusing the man who guided his club to the top flight for the first time in 33 years of making a “sideways move”.

And while the impasse in negotiations caused a few nervous moments among supporters, a breakthrough in talks finally materialised yesterday.

An announcement was quick to follow, meaning Owen Coyle will lead Wanderers into their first Premier League match of 2010.