Hamer at pains to prove point after suspension
MARK Robins says Gustavo Hamer has been hurt by his enforced fourgame absence from Coventry City’s first team.
The midfielder bounced back from his ban with a match-winning performance, setting up Jamie Allen with a brilliant defence-splitting pass before nipping between two opponents in the box and picking his spot with a smart far corner finish in the 2-0 win at Stoke City.
Asked if it was a case of Hamer almost saying sorry for missing four games with such an influential display, boss Robins said: “He has been as hurt by it, as we have, but what has happened in his absence is the players have galvanised and got some brilliant results with some really good performances. And that is obviously key to what we need to do because we have so many games coming thick and fast.
“With the ball speed sometimes you are getting bookings that aren’t really bookings but the accumulation of that means you are going to get players missing games.
“Gus has had two sendings-off but he was working on the other side of the game where he wasn’t picking up stupid bookings, and then he got punished for a kick out at an opponent that he didn’t kick in the face. That’s infuriating and part of the game that no-one talks about and no-one gets penalised or retrospectively punished.
“So you have to be mindful that if you think that the referees are looking for something and then you give it to them, they react. You can’t do that because we can’t afford to miss players, whoever they are, especially of the quality of Gus.”
Robins added: “We have had Callum O’hare missing all season so far, Liam Kelly as well and now Matty Godden, so we have to try to keep everyone fit.
“And with the games coming up I have my heart in my mouth because we are only a couple of injuries away from a disaster. A lot of teams are similar but they all carry bigger squads, so for us it’s a little bit different.”
Meanwhile, Hamer’s talent and temperament hold the key to Coventry’s prospects this season, says EFL pundit Jobi Mcanuff.
Hamer inspired the Sky Blues to their triumph at Stoke but red-card suspensions mean that the Brazilian-born Dutchman has missed five of City’s 13 Championship matches to date and Mcanuff thinks it is crucial that he avoids further disciplinary problems.
Former Jamaica international Mcanuff, who played 700 matches, said: “For me, when he plays Coventry are a fantastic team. He brings real quality into that midfield area – everything good flows through him.
“His assist for the first goal was fantastic, putting it on a plate for Jamie Allen, and then he was absolutely magic as he skipped in between two to score himself.
“Let’s just hope he keeps himself out of trouble now. With him in the team they are starting to look a little like the Coventry certainly we expected.”