'Muck and bullets' - Mark Robins on Coventry City coaching dynamic in post Viveash & Lawrence era
The sudden and shock departure of Adi Viveash in the summer was a huge talking point and cause for concern among many Coventry City fans.
His June exit came just weeks after fellow first team coach Dennis Lawrence moved to the United States and, on the face of it, left a gaping hole to be filled on the training fields at Ryton.
Step in George Boateng and Rhys Carr, while Mark Delaney and John Dempster stepped up from their existing roles with the Under-18s and 21s, respectively, to form a four-man coaching team. And just as the Sky Blues are striving to adjust to seven new playing additions in the closed season, so the back room staff are getting to grips with their new responsibilities.
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So how are they getting on? Asked about the new-look coaching dynamic and how that is working, manager Mark Robins said: “As you’d expect, some really good things. They are brilliant people, to start with, and clearly there is a difference from previous seasons because Adi is gone and they have come in and it’s always going to take time to settle.”
The City boss admits that they remain a work-in-progress, just as with his players, as the coaches also find their feet.
“I’m still looking at it, still looking at that dynamic,” said the manager. “And whilst I am happy with them, we need to make sure the players are getting everything they need because, ultimately, it’s about individuals and about the team, and it’s about results.
“So if we can get that to settle as quickly as possible, and it has to be fair, they are doing as well as they possibly can. They give everything every day and over time people become better and used to the surroundings because it can be really difficult for people coming in, having not experienced it before, to then feel it.
“It’s OK in pre-season because that’s different. It’s a lot calmer and then in a season when muck and bullets are flying around, and you have got to be able to deal with that, and it’s how you cope with it. There are things that you haven’t experienced and you don’t know how you are going to react to that. So I am looking at that all the time and weighing things up as we move along on a daily basis.”
One criticism or concern expressed by fans is that maybe the players are getting too many messages, with four first team coaches now instead of two last season. But Robins insisted: “No, there’s only one message. I don’t know whether that’s because there are four people there. They are all individuals who work in a team environment, and the messages are always the same.”
Delving a little deeper into the roles of each new coach, Bobby Thomas was asked about how things have changed on a day to day basis this season compared to last.
“All credit to Den and Adi last year, who were brilliant,” he said. “But this year is different and you have Rhys, George, MD (Mark Delaney) and John Dempster who are all taking different parts of different sessions, whether that be individual, in possession or out of possession, they have all got different roles and they are all detailed. And they do give out good information, which is really important for us because they aren’t leaving us short in any department.”
Centre-half Thomas also insists that it’s down to the players to do their part in putting into place what they are being told on the training pitch.
“They do their best and I think they are really good at their jobs, so it’s really important that we go out there and try to show everyone what they are trying do and the information they are trying to give us out there,” he said.
“And I think it will all gel and we’ll all be one collective and get some wins. And it will be a real collective win when it comes.”
Asked if one person takes the lead on a daily basis, he said: “It’s more role dependent. They are specific to in possession, out of possession, technical etc. They have different roles.”
Corners are one area City can arguably improve upon in terms of the return of goals for the amount taken so far this season – the Sky Blues having scored just once from 52 corners this term – and Thomas says it’s not for the want of trying or amount of detail that goes into their set-piece work on the training pitch.
“You’d like to think it will click sooner or later,” he said. “We did really well with them last season but I just don’t think the season has started for us yet, to be honest. That stat is a bit of proof and more evidence because 52 corners and one goal is not great, so it does need to change.
“John takes the attacking set plays and we have been in some really good positions, whether that be short, round the corner or whatever, to catch the team out or being in a good position to attack it. I think we should definitely have more set-piece goals because he puts a lot of detail into it and hopefully that will change.
“I had a chance against Swansea in front of the front post but I couldn’t do anything with it but it does need to improve and set plays are a big part of the Championship.”