Chris Coyne joined Luton Town last September as manager Joe Kinnear looked to strengthen what he considered a leaky defence. The day after signing a three-year contract with the Hatters, Coyne made his debut in the home clash with Lincoln City which he marked by scoring an unlucky own goal in the closing minutes to give Lincoln a 1-1 draw. Since then the Australian youth international has become one of the first names on Kinnear's teamsheet as Luton battle it out for automatic promotion to the Second Division. But it's been a long journey for the 23-year old who left Perth as a teenager, and this week Luton's website administrator Geoff Stimson took Coyne for a stroll through his career ...

You started playing in Sydney before continuing your junior days in Perth with Sorrento, Kingsway Olympic and later made your senior debut for Perth Italia as a teenager. Who were the biggest influences on you in those early days?
"My father John Coyne coached me from about 10 or 11 years on and he was a big influence on my career. He played at a good level himself over in England and he also played in the American Soccer League over there in the Seventies. He knew what he was going on about. He played at Tranmere and Hartlepool and Wigan. He played at a few clubs and then he went over to New York and played with the New York Cosmos and a few clubs over there, so he was a big influence."

You moved to England at the age of 17 to join West Ham United. There's been a lot of discussion in recent times about the age at which players should head overseas to pursue their career. What do you think of the new F.I.F.A. guidelines which makes it very difficult for players under the age of 18 to further their careers abroad?
"I was 16 and turning 17 about a month later when I moved abroad, so it was a fairly young age. I think that the F.I.F.A. guideline is a hard rule because if players want to chase their dreams then they have to leave. Australian football is not strong enough to stay there. I wouldn't have left home if I didn't have to, but I think you can't say to a Physiotherapist: 'Don't go there', because it's your job and you have to earn your money somewhere. You've got to earn a living for your family. So I think it's a bad rule in the sense that it's putting shackles on people that they don't need. But it's up to the club to look after people then and make sure that the family can come over, which West Ham did for me. They made sure that my family could fly over every year, so I think that's the way round it."

After playing for Australia at 1995's Youth World Championship in Ecuador, you, your brother Jamie and Richard Garcia headed to West Ham where you signed a four-and-a-half year trainee contract. While you enjoyed a fair degree of success with the Hammers youth teams, at senior level it was a different story with just a handful of games for Brentford and Southend, and just one substitute appearance for the Hammers. Do you have fond memories of those years?
"I had a great time at West Ham. There were a few Aussies there and they tapped into a market that no-one else had gone into before. I had five and a bit years there that I really enjoyed. The Premier League is hard for anyone to get into so I wasn't really disappointed with it. There were a lot of young players also. Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand came out of our youth team and went into the first team and you can't have four or five young lads going in. Rio Ferdinand was phenomenal - a great athlete, great on the ball and he was head and shoulders above everyone else. He was a great player. So I was disappointed that I didn't play more but I wouldn't change it for the world and I don't look back on it with any regrets. I enjoy what I've got now. I'm enjoying my football. I think I had to move for first team football. You can't just sit in the reserves and be a squad player all your life."

You left West Ham late in the 1999/2000 season and linked up with Scottish club Dundee. Just as you were starting to make the senior squad you were called up as one of four stand-by players for the 2000 Olympic Games, an offer which you turned down. The Olympic Games is a once in a lifetime opportunity - have ever regretted the decision that you made?
"Not at all. I haven't got many regrets and that's not one of them. What disappointed me was that I didn't get picked in the initial 18-man squad. The manager wanted me to come over as a reserve and I'm a bit too proud for my own good I suppose. I could have sat there and hoped for a place. But I think I'd only played about three or four first team games at Dundee, so if I'd left I would have lost my spot for two months and I couldn't afford to do that to go over there as a reserve. Now, if the manager could have guaranteed me a place, which I tried to explain to him, which I thought maybe I merited then, I would have cut my leg off to get over there to play in the Olympics in my own country. But that didn't arise and I've got no regrets about staying because I played 30-odd games after that in the league and cup. So no regrets at all."

Over the years, Shaun Murphy worked his way up through England's lower divisions before being called-up for the Socceroos. Do you hope to be able to follow his example and someday win a call-up to the senior national team?
"Yes, of course I do - I'd love to play at senior level for my country. I've done it at junior level so that's the next progression. Shaun's done really well for himself, so hopefully I can emulate that and it would be fantastic to play for my country."

After a spell in Dundee's reserves you established yourself as a first team regular. But less than 18 months after joining Dundee you were heading back south of the border for Luton. Were those days in Scotland happy times for you?
"Yes, I loved it - I really enjoyed it. It was difficult because the manager came in and got rid of a lot of players. I left not on bad terms, but I wasn't happy with the way it was handled by them. But I was happy with the way Luton treated me, so I had no problems with moving. It was a good club and I enjoyed playing there and the supporters up at Dundee were fantastic, superbly so."

There's been a lot in the media lately about Dundee and various claims against club officials Paul and Peter Marr, and Ivano and Dario Bonetti from players Patrizio Billio and Marco De Marchi. What do you make of all the fuss?
"As far as I'm concerned, and speaking as a friend of De Marchi and Billio, I don't think they've been treated right, but I don't know all the ins and outs. Ivano and Dario are difficult to get on with because they're not very people persons. They do demand respect because of the level of football they've been at, I mean, Sampdoria, Milan, Roma - they speak for themselves. You don't play at that level for 15 years if you're a bad player. But they just make things a little bit difficult for players. Last year we did fairly well, this year they're struggling but the Marr's have backed him and it's none of my business now. I think they do earn respect as players but they sometimes make it difficult for players with their attitude."

As you were on your way out of Dundee, Sydney-born Mark Robertson arrived. He's currently on the fringes of become a first team regular. How do you think Mark will go at Dens Park in the long-term?
"Robbo was there. He's one of my best mates. He was there for about six months. Great bloke. Same thing, though - he hasn't really been given a chance. There's a lot of Spanish and Argentinian players up there and Italians. But then Robbo's happy up there and he loves working up there. He's from a Scottish background, his father's from Edinburgh, so he likes the people up there and loves where he's at. He'll do well up there, Robbo, he's enjoying it."

Why did you chose to join Luton over some of the other clubs?
"The attraction was that it was a Third Division club that didn't belong here with a high profile management team that were looking to go up. That was something that interested me and it was something that I've really looked forward to. The manager up in Scotland played me all last year and then for some reason at the beginning of the season dropped me, so I knew there was something to it. I know now that he's brought in a Chinese international instead so it's worked out really well for me coming here and the ambitions of the club match my own.

How different is the Scottish Premier Division compared to playing in the Third Division?
"It's a lot slower in Scotland. The likes of Celtic and Rangers have better players because they've got better money and they can afford to pay better players so they're technically a lot more gifted than some of the players we've played in the Third Division so it is slower. But I played on loan at Brentford in the Third Division in 1998 and it's definitely a higher standard than it was then. There's not a really big gap, but I think it's more difficult playing in the Third Division than in the Scottish Premier simply because of the pace. It's just physical - it's just about rolling your sleeves up and getting stuck in. Like at Lincoln the other night, it was a poor pitch and conditions weren't great but you've just got to get on with it - and it was a good result there!

The weekend of December 15th was a bitter-sweet occasion for you. The Friday night was spent at hospital with your wife where you witnessed the birth of your first child, and less than 24-hours later you lasted just 10 minutes of the home clash with Rushden and Diamonds before going down with a serious knee injury. Take us back to that weekend ...
"I just remember before the game saying to Mick Harford 'How long till kick off?' because I was really looking forward to it and I just wanted to get out there and play. I think it was just demoralizing, the fact that I'd had to put so much into being physically ready and mentally prepared, and then when I got injured through a stupid tackle. It wasn't even a bad tackle, it was just Berky (Ahmet Brkovic), my own teammate, caught me - that was what was gut-wrenching. The good thing was that I spent my first Christmas with little Kieran, but the bad thing was that I missed nine games. And there were two or three games called off through bad weather or it would have been even more. I mean, your career's so short that no-one wants to miss two months of it. That was more what I was worried about than anything else. That's the worst and longest injury I've had. I've had a knee injury before but it was only minor. I'm just glad to be back now and I'm getting fit again. I can feel it sometimes, but it's just one of those things and I've been told I will for a while."

You recently returned to the first team after spending the better part of a month on the sidelines with that knee injury. With the season rapidly coming to an end, Luton are well and truly in the hunt for automatic promotion to the Second Division. Are you confident that the side can continue to get the right results and hold on to second place?
"Very confident. You have to be confident with the performances we've put in. We've lost a few points that we probably shouldn't have, but we've also picked points up like on Tuesday night at Lincoln. It was a poor game but we've just dug in and picked up three points where we could have gone there and come away with one point or no points. We've got to be confident with performances like that. We can play tough football but we can also play good football and I think we've got the makings of a good side

The weather in England at the moment is quite different to what we're getting in Perth, do you miss not being back at home at this time of the year? And, I know it's a long way off, but would you like to one day return to Australia and see out your playing days, perhaps with Glory?
"I miss Perth - it's home and everyone misses their home. I miss going down the beach when it's 30-odd degrees in the summer and it was only five minutes away from the house. I really do miss home because my family's there - my little sister, brother, Mum and Dad. I miss that. And I'd love to go back and play in the N.S.L. because I learnt my football in Perth and I'd love to go back and play for the Perth Glory one day and hopefully get into management in football at some level back home. So I'll definitely, definitely go back to retire. I got back last year but we only had nine days off because we were in the Inter-Toto Cup. I've only had 30 days in the last three years over there so this year with the World Cup it will be good to have a good couple of months out there definitely. Touch wood it's an early end to the season and we go up on the 20th. That'd be great."

You've played in three countries and represented Australia on several occasions at youth level - in your opinion, who is the best player you have played alongside, and against?
"There's been a few. Claudio Cannigia up at Dundee was an absolutely amazing player, a frightening player. And also playing with Paulo Di Canio and people like that at West Ham - some good players. I couldn't really pick one, to be honest. As for the best player I've faced, probably Henrik Larsson of Celtic last year. He was phenomenal, a really good player."

Looking to the future, what do you hope to achieve in the game over coming years?
"I'm just enjoying it at the moment. I want to enjoy it and work hard and hopefully if you put everything into it you'll achieve whatever's there, whether it's a cup, a league, whatever. As long as I'm playing to the best of my ability and putting the hours in on the training ground and enjoying it. I think if you're enjoying your football, the rewards will come with that."

Photograph : Chris Coyne leaves the pitch with sports therapist Bruce Sewell after injuring his knee in December's game with Rushden and Diamonds. Photography by Gareth Owen - reproduced with permission from the official Luton Town website (www.lutontown.co.uk).