Coyle picked the 25-year-old up on a free transfer in January but Holden saw his hopes of making an impact at the summer's World Cup effectively dashed when he suffered a broken leg in a friendly in March.
Holden's impact on the Trotters was plain to see on Sunday when he came back from injury straight into the starting line-up and responded with his brilliant 88th-minute strike to claim the points.
Coyle said: "I got Stuart for nothing in January but he had a leg break and missed two months of the season and the World Cup.
"I believe had Stuart played in those two months he would probably have started in the World Cup for America and gone on from where he is now.
"We've missed Stuart in the last two games because he just gets better. He showed a real quality and he has got a real tenacity to go with it."
Source: PA
Source: PA