OWEN Coyle will not have enjoyed kicking off his Reebok reign with a defeat.

He’s a winner and losing at home — even to an exceptional Arsenal side — will have hurt him. He hates losing at anything — cards, head-tennis . . . you name it.

But he will be relieved to have got his first game out of the way so that he can settle down in the job and he’ll be pleased that everyone’s pulling together to keep Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League.

It was important to get off on the right foot and he did, thanks to the crowd.

They were absolutely brilliant. They gave him a great reception and that, in turn, rubbed off on the team.

He stressed beforehand how important it was to have the crowd behind the team and he couldn’t have asked for a better start in that respect.

Mind you, he couldn’t have asked for a tougher first match, Arsenal were special and in Cesc Fabregas they had a special player. I spoke to the youth team players yesterday and told them to have a good look at how he played — a great player who always makes himself available, is always hungry for the ball and uses it well. He’s world class and it’s just a pity he had to make his comeback against us.

It’s Arsenal again tomorrow — this time on their own patch — which could be even tougher. But don’t go thinking it’s a foregone conclusion. Coyley will have the players up for it, and if they play the way they played in the first 20 minutes of the second half on Sunday, they can cause Arsenal problems.

Take nothing away from Arsene Wenger’s side, but if we’d taken one of those chances at that point, things could have turned out a lot different.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but everybody seems to be on the front foot again.

The manager is still learning about his players but he knows the supporters well enough from his time as a player and it doesn’t surprise me that he has already made arrangements to accompany the chairman at a fans forum.

He’s got nothing to hide and he will go there determined not only to get his points over but also to listen to what the supporters have to say.

He knows how important it is for everyone to pull in the right direction.

It was great to see Coyley watching the kids in last week’s FA Youth Cup tie against Fulham. It was heartbreaking for them to lose the penalty shoot-out and the manager made a point of consoling them at the end.

But he didn’t just leave them feeling sorry for themselves. He knew they’d worked their socks off but his parting shot was to make sure that, in future, they practised penalties.

That’s Coyley — a great guy but a sore loser.