Veteran Liam looks ahead to a fully-fit season
ILLNESS
LIAM Kelly has set out his intentions ahead of his final year of contract at Coventry City.
The Sky Blues skipper has been a mainstay of Mark Robins’ side from the rise from League Two to the Championship – a hugely influential figure and leader on and off the field.
But injury and illness saw the 32-year-old spend more time on the sidelines than on the pitch this season when he made just 16 appearances in the league, eight from the start and eight from the bench.
In the meantime, Ben Sheaf has stepped up to become an impressive regular starter along with star midfielder Gustavo Hamer, while Jamie Allen has also competed with Sheaf to good effect in the slot that Kelly once commanded. But back to full fitness at the back end of the campaign and heading into the summer in determined mood, Kelly is clearly keen to make up for lost time next season.
“It was nice to be back in training and back part of the matchday squad,” said the City captain, whose current deal runs out in the summer of 2023. “It’s been a difficult year for me, having done my posterior cruciate and tore my hamstring a couple of times, and I caught Covid a couple of times as well, so it’s been difficult.
“I am pleased that the lads have done really well and that the club has had a good season, especially with the fans coming back and the atmosphere at some of the games has been great. But look, it’s been disappointing with a lot of injury and illness that has kept me sidelined for large parts of it. But on the plus side I am strong now and am looking forward to getting some game time in with a full pre-season and having a successful year again next season.”
He added: “I missed the whole of last pre-season and the first few months of the season which is difficult when you’re trying to play catch-up. I still managed to play a fair chunk of games and contribute to a good run of results but yes, for myself, I just want to keep myself fit and be competitive going into the start of next season.
“I just want to get back playing
SKIPPER HAS ENDURED A CAMPAIGN BLIGHTED BY INJURY AND
again. That’s the main thing. It’s been a difficult one for me this season with no prolonged period of games or training. I think the longest I went was a couple of months just before Christmas and that was disrupted by having to isolate twice in a row due to Covid, so it’s just about having to stay fit and available for selection for a prolonged period of time. And I’m confident that I’ll be able to do that and contribute to the team to achieve results, as I have done in previous seasons.”
Asked how difficult it will be for the team to improve again next season, he said: “The Championship is a difficult league and there are always big clubs with big budgets that come down from the Premier League and who are desperate to get themselves into the top six and back up again.
“So we just need to keep doing what we’re doing, which is working incredibly hard on the training ground and going out and trying to play good, positive football and trying to win games. And if we do that and keep on improving then there’s no doubt we can go on and have another successful year.”