He was the top goalscorer of the Scottish Premier Division three times, a feat he achieved with three clubs (Dundee, Celtic and Motherwell).
[2] He played for Hillwood Boys Club[3] before starting his professional career at Clydebank, where he made his debut in the 1981–82 season, scoring 9 goals in 31 matches.
[2][4] In the 1987–88 season Coyne was top scorer in the Premier Division as he scored 33 goals in 43 matches, a total which earned him third place in the European Golden Boot contest.
Despite scoring 15 goals in the following season and three in ten games at the start of 1992–93,[6] Coyne was allowed to transfer to Tranmere Rovers in March 1993 for a fee reported at £400,000, a record outlay for the Birkenhead club.
[9] Performing well alongside Dougie Arnott and fellow Glasgow-born Irish international Owen Coyle, he scored 61 goals in 156 games for Motherwell in all competitions.
Thanks to good performances in warm-up fixtures including a win over the Netherlands[14] and injury to Niall Quinn, Coyne started three of Ireland's four matches in the 1994 FIFA World Cup[15][8] but he failed to score in the tournament although he was praised for his efforts particularity in an unexpected victory over Italy with the Irish matchwinner being another Glaswegian, Ray Houghton;[2] Coyne was with Motherwell at the time and became the first serving player from that club to appear at the World Cup.
[17] Coyne's attempt to establish himself in English football in 1993 ended abruptly when his wife Alison died after consuming alcohol and painkillers.
[18][19] Coyne temporarily stopped playing football and had to return to Scotland to seek support from relatives in caring for his young children.