If you’d asked Coventry City fans on the eve of the 2023/24 campaign what their hopes and expectations were, one suspects that most would have suggested a season of consolidation lay ahead given the loss of two of the best players in the Championship and influx of so many new faces.
Although big money was spent for the first time in years, including a club record transfer fee of over £7million for USA star Haji Wright, losing 14 players and adding 10 in the summer (11 come January) meant it was always going to be a transitional year for the Sky Blues, no matter how good the quality of the new-look squad.
It takes time for new players to settle, to gel as a team and get up to speed with many experiencing Championship football for the first time, so for City to have even been competing at this stage of the season for a place in the play-offs for a second consecutive year, coupled with making the semi-final of the FA Cup, is a remarkable achievement in itself.
READ MORE: Coventry vs Man Utd Wembley ticket warning, Fan Zone update and turnstile timings confirmed
The fact that they have come up short with four league games to go is disappointing, of course, but comes as no great surprise to Mark Robins, who is ready to take stock, apply a bit of perspective and come up with an action plan to move things forward again this summer.
There’s a small matter of a date with Manchester United at Wembley this Sunday to come before that, as well as pushing for as high a place finish in the division as possible to ensure the season doesn’t fizzle out, as it appeared to do at St Andrew’s last weekend with a thoroughly flat performance and disappointing 3-0 Midlands derby defeat to Birmingham City.
“We have got to be better than we were on Saturday, that’s for sure, but we will be,” said the Coventry manager, looking ahead to Sunday’s big day out at the national stadium. “I think you can guarantee we will be better on Sunday and that’s going to be what we need to do.”
City have shown once again this season that they have the ability to pull big performances out of the bag, not least their incredible display against Wolves in the quarter-final of the Cup and, more recently in the league, the 2-1 victory over Leeds United at the CBS Arena. But there has been too much inconsistency; brilliant one week, below par the next - arguably a symptom of too thin a squad. Asked if that’s the frustration at this stage of the season, Robins told CoventryLive: “Well, it will be. It won’t be this week but it will be at the end of the season when we go over things and look what got away from us. Life gives you opportunities. Football gives you opportunities and if you keep turning those opportunities down then you don’t deserve it. You have got to earn the right and that’s why it means so much when you win anything.”
The club’s rise up the football pyramid over the last seven years has been thoroughly enjoyable and exciting for the fans, culminating in City gaining a foothold in the second tier. And under new ownership in Doug King and with new found spending power, albeit a prudent use of the purse strings, the Sky Blues can look forward to incremental progress as the club continues to push ever closer to a sustained crack at getting back to the Premier League.
“From our evolution when we got into this league a few years ago, the first season was about trying to stay in,” he said. “The question then is, can you improve year on year? And we have done that. This year we struggled to pick up results at the start of the season but we were playing some good football, knowing you have to keep everyone fit and yet using everyone.
“And you know at this stage of the season when you really need it, that it might not be there. And that’s always been the concern, and that looks like it’s been borne out. But I can’t be too critical because it’s not for a lack of wanting to try. It’s just understanding the circumstances, which is difficult for people at times. I understand that and what we need to do. And we have to keep moving it forward the only way that we can.”
Sky Blues at Wembley - get your copy now!
Coventry City continue to make new history under the management of Mark Robins who has guided the club to their first FA Cup semi-final since winning the famous competition in 1987, in what is still regarded as the Sky Blues’ finest hour.
Having beaten Wolverhampton Wanderers some 37 years later in the quarter-finals, City now face the mighty Manchester United in the last four at Wembley on Sunday, April 21 – only the second time the club have ever reached that stage.
To celebrate and mark the achievement, the Coventry Telegraph has produced a bumper 40-page souvenir publication, packed with exclusive interviews with Mark Robins and his trusty assistant and head coach Adi Viveash, as well as a look back at the 1987 road to Wembley.
Hear how former Man United striker Robins feels about pitting his managerial wits against the club he still supports and has much affection for from his playing days, and how City’s esteemed coach Viveash helped plot Wolves’ downfall, and his fascinating take on how to beat top end Premier League opponents for a second time. He’ll be talking tactics, attention to detail, mind games and, of course, one of the biggest ingredients for success – belief!
Order your copy now and get it delivered direct to your door. On sale in selected independent retailers and supermarkets in Coventry from Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
Applying perspective to the season, it has been a success considering the turnover in playing staff and loss of such key players in Gus Hamer and Viktor Gyokeres.
“It’s difficult to say when you have just played like that at Birmingham but we have to point out a few things,” said Robins. “And I’m not looking for excuses. You know what’s going to happen and eventually what it’s going to look like at the end of the season. But when you are so close it becomes so disappointing because you have got to try to take it as far and as close as you possibly can.”
He added: “But it’s a brilliant point, in fairness, because you lose two of your best players and then there’s a massive turnover – 25 in total involved, with 14 leaving and 11 coming in, and then it takes time in one of the most competitive leagues in the world. It’s certainly one of the most competitive second tier. So that, along with the limited time we had to work with the new players who didn’t come until after the season had started, so it’s remarkable what they have achieved so far.
“It’s just disappointing when you have a performance like that which is a foreign thing to us. But football is like that and if you are not right it will kick you in the teeth, no danger. And that’s just what has happened so we have to dust ourselves down and go again. But it might take a little bit of time.
“You are right, it isn’t just a case of next season we will fly again. This division is totally different every season. We want to try to build into next season where we start brightly, pick up that momentum and have that confidence and energy to see it through.”
Looking ahead to the summer, I asked Robins if increasing his squad numbers was a priority as well as increasing the quality of new additions?
“I am always hopeful, absolutely,” he said, “but we have got to be realistic because we can’t just go and... We are still not a team who can go out and do it just because we have bought some players, which was new to us last summer and was enabled by Doug King and the sale of the two players. But the change at Ryton is also there to see and those are the exciting things, and I have to get to that stage where I can use some players in the squad that are not going to make it as it is not the same level.
“We have got to get everyone to that place, and that’s not putting anyone down because everyone plays their part and everyone has been absolutely fantastic here and played their part in this club’s journey over the last seven years. But now we have to make sure that we keep in and learn lessons from seasons like this, and how we can attack it and stay in there.”
With a full Championship season under their belts, City’s signings from last summer are hoped to be even better next term.
“I think, generally, the players improve all the time and we have seen that over a number of years now,” agreed the City boss. “What I am excited about is that happening and also getting into a position where we can strengthen further to give us an even better opportunity to climb the leagues, and try to get into the top part of this division. And hopefully we can do that on the basis of trying to keep everyone together. That’s the next challenge after this season ends.”
The likelihood is that Callum O’Hare will be leaving this summer, having declined a new contract and looking set to move on a free transfer, but arguably the biggest concern will be if there is renewed interest in Ben Sheaf; the former Arsenal prospect already having been the subject of speculation linking him with Luton in January.
“We have got to look at that and see where we can tangibly go from there and what we can reasonably expect. But if you lose people along the way then things change again and it means there’s just a little bit more time and change, but there’s more certainty and you can build from there.
“From my point of view that’s always an on-going thing and always exciting to look at and try to navigate through, I suppose, but that’s for the future.”
In the meantime, Robins has a fourth Wembley trip to enjoy since taking charge at the club.
“Sunday is a big, big game that the supporters are looking forward to because we have heard them singing about it for the last few weeks,” he said. “So they will get the chance to sing their hearts out on a big occasion. And we have got to be better than we were against Birmingham, just slightly!”
