City ready to go again after break
IN-FORM STARS AND PLAYERS COMING BACK FROM INJURY WILL BE ON THE PLANE TO SPAIN
COVENTRY City’s players are due to report back for duty this coming weekend when they will fly out to Spain for a warm weather training camp as Mark Robins’ men begin a two-week build up to their return match at Reading on December 10.
The Sky Blues do so after a fortnight’s rest and recuperation, and will hopefully return refreshed and happy to be back in what has been a positive environment in the last two months after a traumatic start to the season.
But City’s pitch problems and postponements are hopefully firmly behind them now as the team have bounced back in style with an outstanding run of seven Championship wins from their last nine, during which they lost just once.
As it stands the Sky Blues are sitting in the relative comfort of 11th place in the division, just two points off the play-off places, with two games in hand over most of their rivals to set expectations soaring for a second season running.
Robins is delighted with his team’s dramatic recovery from being rock bottom of the division little more than a month ago, and is confident they can build on that progress in the run up until Christmas and into the second half of the campaign.
Here we look at what he’ll be working on in the run up to the big re-start after the World Cup.
Defensive resolve
City have built their recent surge up the table on solid foundations, having kept 10 clean sheets out of their last 13 games to become the meanest defence in the division going on current form. They have conceded just 18 goals in 19 games, while second from top Sheffield United have let in 19, albeit having played two more games than the Sky Blues.
That resilience has been on display in recent weeks, not least at Watford and holding out amid late pressure from Wigan and QPR to see out games while adding to their lead with late second goals to secure the points.
Although built from the back and the magnificent leadership from Kyle Mcfadzean and his fellow centre-backs, it’s become a real team effort with every player taking pride in being tight from front to back. And Robins and his right-hand man on the training field, Adi Viveash, will be keen for that mentality to continue.
Building momentum
City’s last game before the international break for the World Cup was arguably the best the team have played all season in terms of their
attacking intent. They looked back to last season’s best when they got forward and created chances at will, and overpowered the opposition with their fluid front players working their way into the box. That has to be a good sign that they are finally rediscovering their rhythm that produced so many memorable performances and results last term.
Key to that has been Callum O’hare’s return from injury and starting to look close to his best again in recent weeks, while complemented by the excellent form of Gus Hamer, Jamie Allen, Kasey Palmer and Viktor Gyokeres in the final third.
Robins is confident that his players can continue to build that momentum and see how far it takes them, so they can expect plenty of attention to detail on the training pitch in the next fortnight.
Integrating injured players back into the squad
City’s travelling squad to Spain will include Martyn Waghorn, Liam Kelly, Fankaty Dabo and Michael Rose - all of whom have been set back by injuries in the first few months of the season.
Given such a light squad that has been short on senior numbers at times, it will be good for the manager to have more options at his disposal for the hectic festive period
and into the second half of the campaign. As such, the above players will be working hard to get themselves back up to speed to ensure they are ready when called upon to play their part.
Sitting down with King and sorting out January plans
City’s January transfer window looks set to be completely different to the way it was heading just a week ago before Doug King’s proposed takeover was announced. The big question is, will the deal be approved by the EFL before the window opens or, indeed, by the time it shuts?
Either way, Robins will no doubt be keen to sit down with the new owner as soon as possible to discuss the club’s future, not least providing stability at the CBS Arena. But also high on the agenda will be his short, medium and long-term ambitions for the Sky Blues and what the plan is for the forthcoming transfer window.
King has already pledged to the fans that he won’t be selling key players in January but it’s unclear what sort of budget the manager will be working to at this stage, although talking of building on the current momentum and making a promotion push this season appears to be a signal of intent that he will be given some funds to strengthen next month.