Top striker gives Ostigard perfect preparation - boss
MARK Robins believes Coventry City defender Leo Ostigard has had the perfect preparation for today’s game after pitting his defensive wits against the man he considers to be the hottest striker in the world.
The Norwegian has been on duty with his country during the international break after stepping up from the Under-21s.
And although the 20-year-old, who is on a season-long loan from Premier League Brighton, didn’t get to earn his first senior cap in a triple header fortnight that saw Norway lose to Serbia in the UEFA Euro qualifiers, before beating Romania and Northern Ireland in the Nations League, the City boss reckons his time away will have been well spent.
Robins has to decide whether to keep faith with Ostigard, who has started every Championship game so far this season, or restore star man Michael Rose to the starting line-up to face Brentford today.
Ostigard was withdrawn at half-time last time out against Bournemouth after picking up an early booking and replaced by Rose, who made his first league appearance of the season in the 3-1 defeat by the Cherries.
“He’s back and I have just had a conversation with him to find out what he’s done and the amount of sessions he’s been doing, and how he’s feeling after his training sessions,” said Robins. “He’s not played games but he’s been training and playing with and against probably the best striker in the world at the minute in Erling Haaland, so that’s a decent preparation for any game.
“So I’ll have a look at him in training and see how he is.”
The Leeds-born Haaland scored 44 goals in 40 appearances last season for RB Salzburg and later Borussia Dortmund, displaying prowess beyond his 20 years of age.
Meanwhile, Coventry City captain Liam Kelly suffered an injury scare this week in the run up to today’s trip to Brentford when they will be without the suspended Gus Hamer.
The Sky Blues skipper has been manager Mark Robins’ biggest concern in recent weeks after suffering a hamstring tear on the opening day of the Championship campaign at Bristol City.
He sat out the following games against QPR and Barnsley before returning to the bench as an unused sub against Bournemouth last time out.
However, the 30-year-old influential midfielder suffered a muscle problem earlier this week that meant he was forced to pull out of a behindclosed-doors friendly designed to give players valuable match minutes in their legs as several continue to work on getting their fitness up to speed.
“He had a hamstring problem and he’s over that,” said Robins.
“He had an issue earlier in the week so he didn’t take part in a training game we put on but he trained on Thursday.”
Asked if Kelly will be in contention to play at Brentford on a day when star midfielder Hamer stats the first of a three-match ban, the manager said: “Well, he trained so we will wait and see how things turn out.
“It was just a problem with a muscle that he was able to get over in 48 hours, so fingers crossed.”
Elsewhere, Wes Jobello was back in action this week turning out in his second game for the Under-23s along with Marcel Hilssner and fit-again goalkeeper Ben Wilson, who has missed the start of the season with a wrist injury.
He’s been training and playing with and against probably the best striker in the world at the minute in Erling Haaland. Mark Robins