Yahoo News Coventry City boss dodges Doug King question but pinpoints missing ingredient ahead of transfer window
Mark Robins is determined that Coventry City’s season finishes positively but the manager can’t help but have half an eye on building on the team’s progress and going again next season.
The Sky Blues boss is preparing to take stock of an incredible campaign that’s seen the club fall just short of the play-offs in recent weeks and bow out of the FA Cup in style at the penultimate hurdle. That impressive cup run has taken a heavy toll in terms of injuries and fatigue, and arguably been a distraction from the promotion push in recent weeks when City have missed big opportunities to stay in the race for a top six place.
They currently sit in eighth place on 63 points, with nine left to play for starting with this weekend’s trip to Blackburn Rovers, and swiftly followed by home games against Ipswich Town and Queens Park Rangers. City finished fifth last season on 70 points and Robins clearly wants to top that tally this time around, albeit extremely unlikely to catch Norwich now. But nine points are available to take them to 72 points, which the Canaries currently have with two games remaining.
READ MORE: Kyle McFadzean sets out intentions for 'weird' first reunion with beloved Coventry City
“From that perspective we can only feel we have missed some opportunities in the last few weeks but we will reflect and look back on it, and I am sure we can improve moving forwards,” said the upbeat manager, speaking in today’s pre-match press conference where everything was back to normal, back on zoom and back to fielding questions from just CWR and CoventryLive – in stark contrast to facing a packed press auditorium at Wembley.
“It’s going to be a really interesting few games when we have to see how many points we can pick up in difficult games. But we’re in a really healthy position in where we are and there are still things we want to achieve this season in terms in trying to beat totals from last season, although that becomes more difficult when you are running out of games and players. But we will go up there and give everything we can and see where that takes us.
“But, in fairness, from where we started, everyone’s contribution, including the support, has been absolutely incredible. And we’ll come back stronger next season.”
Preparing for a time of reflection, he added: “Everyone is proud of parts of things but ultimately we will be disappointed. When we look back on things and get time to reflect, it will change. But when you have been high achievers for a long time you know it’s going to be a really tough ask to get to that stage, and the amount of games we have been asked to play in a short space of time is always difficult to play at the levels we want.
“We have still got three games to play and that is very, very difficult to do. When we look back at the end of the season, which is only ten days away, then we can reflect on what they have done and how we could have improved, look at individuals and then how we can go again next season.”
City’s thin looking squad is down to the proverbial bare bones with Fabio Tavares out until the summer with ankle ligament damage while defenders Joel Latibeaudiere and Luis Binks are nursing calf and Achilles problems, respectively. Elsewhere, Callum O’Hare (fatigue) and Victor Torp (stomach strain) faced fitness tests before the coach left for Lancashire on Friday afternoon for an overnight stay.
Robins made the point on Wednesday night that City’s lack of strength in depth at such a congested time of the season has ‘come home to roost,’ but asked if he has had chance to sit down with owner Doug King, or has a date pencilled in his diary for such a meeting, to discuss what he can do in terms of spending, strengthening and numbers required in the summer to ensure the club don’t come up short again, he was having none of it, preferring to talk about the weather!
He did, however, reveal one area of his team that requires a missing ingredient since the January departure of Kyle McFadzean – the 37-year-old facing his former club for the first time this weekend. Although game time has been a bit hit and miss in recent weeks, the loss of fellow centre-back Scott Wharton to a serious knee injury this week could see Fadz back in the starting line-up against his beloved Sky Blues.
The defender is determined to say a fond farewell to the travelling 4,300 fans and is expected to get a warm reception from them when he walks out for the warm-up as well as on the final whistle if he stays to say his good-byes.
Asked if he thinks the Sky Blue Army will show their appreciation, Robins said: “That’s down to them. But his time here is well documented that he was absolutely brilliant for us. He’s a top, top person. He went through a really difficult period this season when he lost his mum and then obviously left in the transfer window, and it was really sad to see him go and he felt the same way. When someone has been a stalwart and highly regarded by everyone, I have no doubt the supporters will want to show their appreciation because he has a place in this club’s history and in the supporters’ hearts for ever more, and rightly so. He’s a top, top human being.”
McFadzean was signed on a short-term deal until the end of the season and currently has eyes on a new contract at Rovers.
“I’d back him to get a new contract, yes, 100 percent,” said his former boss, who knows only too well how hard he trains and looks after himself and firmly believes he “still has plenty of football left in his legs.”
His leadership, professionalism and character on and off the pitch are something that’s clearly still sought after by the manager, who concluded: “He trained properly every day and like it was a game. He took things on board, listened and learned, even at 33 when he came in, he knuckled down and learned and made sure he dragged everyone else with him. He helped all the lads who played alongside him, all the lads in front of him and that’s something that we miss and is something we have got to replace at some point.”
