ROBINS: WHY I THINK JODI WILL STAY
OUT-OF-CONTRACT STRIKER IS FIRED UP TO END HIS INJURY WOES AND PUSH FOR FIRST-TEAM COMEBACK
MARK Robins insists he will not be putting any pressure on Jodi Jones to return to action after an 14-month lay-off – because he is confident the striker will be part of Coventry City’s plans next season.
Jones has made just two cameo appearances in cup-ties since he suffered a second serious knee ligament injury in November 2018.
The hugely popular Sky Blues forward has been building his fitness up with several games in the Under-23s as he strives to break back into firstteam contention in the last few months of his current contract at the League One club.
Jones will become a free agent in the summer unless he signs a new deal with City who do not have a current option to extend his stay.
Manager Robins, however, has dropped a huge hint about the 22-year-old’s future.
“He’s worked really hard in the 23s and we’ll assess him as time goes on,” said the boss.
“I didn’t attend the 23s game on Monday [against Crystal Palace] but the reports that came back were that he worked really hard and looked a threat, so he’s building that level.
“He has got himself to a stage where he’s strong and feels confident, and he’s just building up that fitness and the strength. So he’s not too far away but to put a time scale on it I think is probably a bit unfair.”
As for Jones’s future at the club, Robins was asked if the contract situation is any closer to being resolved.
“Umm, I think we will be continuing to speak but I think we’ll be OK on that front,” he said.
“Clearly he has had a tough two years and he has to get a bit of stability in his life. I think his personal life is in a good place and he’s in a good place mentally as well, so he’s just got to continue to focus on what he’s doing because what he has been doing is good.”
Jones was much sought-after prior to his injuries when Leeds United were keen to take him to Elland Road, and he could leave City on a free if he fancies his chances elsewhere.
But Robins said: “He was sought after by us and still is, so forget other clubs.
“What he was doing pre-injury was pretty special and there was interest in him and a possibility, or probability that he wouldn’t have been here.
“But he is and while it’s been a horrendous two years for him it’s good that we have still got him and can utilise him again.”
So does that mean he’s positive about extending Jones’s time at City?
“Yes, I think so,” he said. “I am hopeful that he will commit.”
RYAN Giles has been at Coventry City for a fortnight but yet to kick a ball in anger for the club.
Unable to play against Bristol Rovers and Birmingham City in his first few days with the Sky Blues, the exciting January loan signing from Wolverhampton Wanderers was on the subs bench for the following two League One games against Bolton and Portsmouth.
Those tight matches – which both required late winners from strikers who stepped off the bench – didn’t throw up an opportunity for manager Mark Robins to unleash his newest addition to his squad.
So does he finally hope to hand the 20-year-old his debut today when third-from-top City travel to take on second-from-bottom Southend United?
“I don’t focus on that because I think it’s dangerous to do that,” said the Coventry boss, speaking ahead of the trip to Roots Hall.
“I don’t force anything. I just need to see what happens and that determines which way we go.
“But he’s a good player and we just need to keep his focus as well.”
Giles is a versatile player who can play in a number of positions, although given that he has replaced Brandon Mason on the bench in recent games, it looks as though he will compete for a place at left wing-back with Sam McCallum.
Having spent the first half of the season at League One rivals Shrewsbury Town, Giles can also play out wide or further forward as one of the two attacking midfielders in Robins’s preferred 3-4-2-1 formation. But wherever he ends up getting a game, the manager insists he’ll make a contribution sooner or later.
“He’s come in and is expecting to play and he will, I am sure,” he said, “but the others have got to try to keep him out, and if they do that I am equally happy.
“He probably won’t be, but he’s going to play at some point, there’s no doubt about that.” Robins admits he will have to factor in the weather as he prepares his Sky Blues to take on the Shrimpers at Roots Hall today. The United Kingdom is set to be hit by more bad weather this weekend with Storm Dennis following
He’s a good player and we just need to keep his focus as well He’s come in and is expecting to play and he will, I am sure. Mark Robins
hot on the heels of Storm Ciara that forced Manchester City’s Premier League game against West Ham United to be postponed last weekend.
The Met Office has issued weather warnings for wind and rain across the UK today and Sunday.
Gusts of more than 50 miles per hour are being forecast in some places and it means there could be disruption to travel across parts of England and Wales.
At least 1,528 of the Sky Blues Army are making the trip south, with the possibility of that rising to 2,000 – the away allocation at Roots Hall – if fans travel and pay on the gate.
The team bus should avoid any problems on their outward journey because they travelled down yesterday afternoon, and Robins is hopeful that the storm won’t reach its full force until after this afternoon’s game has finished.
“Looking at the weather forecast we hope it doesn’t hit until after the game,” Robins said, “but we have to consider what the weather may be like and doing at the time, and just continue to play like we do.”
Asked if he’ll adapt his team according to the conditions, the manager added: “It’s an unknown at the minute, so I don’t know.
“It is what it is and we just have to handle the conditions, whatever they are.
“Clearly, if they’re horrendous conditions then things change but ultimately we will go down there and prepare right and focus on the job we have to do.
“It is a game where we have to overcome them as a team but also the conditions, but just go and play your stuff.”
It’s not the first time City have had the endure heavy wind and rain in games, the worst of which was at Fleetwood Town where they managed to come away with a point from a goalless draw on the Lancashire coast.
“We have had a lot of games recently where the conditions have been awful so it’s not entirely new,” said Robins.
“It was really tough at Fleetwood but it’s been poor for a while.
“New Year’s Day at Tranmere was difficult but you have your team, you have your environment and have to over come it.
“You have to try to overcome what’s thrown at you.”