‘This turnaround is not what I envisaged. No one expected us to be here’
COVENTRY captain Liam Kelly aims to complete a hattrick of promotions with the Sky Blues today after helping rebuild the club from rock bottom.
And the midfielder says victory over Luton would top the lot as Coventry bid to end their 22-year spell outside the Premier League.
Kelly was Mark Robins’ second signing after the City manager returned to the club in 2017, arriving after they had dropped into the fourth tier for the first time in 58 years.
The Scot has since been a linchpin of Robins’ side, helping them win the League Two play-offs in 2018 and then the League One title in 2020.
But the 33-year-old knows today’s potential £180million prize would eclipse anything he has achieved in his career.
After a nine-game unbeaten run saw City come fifth and beat Middlesbrough in the play-off semi-final, Kelly said: “We know how big a game it is. “Sometimes the best way to get into the playoffs is to creep in, which we managed to do in the last couple of weeks and we are full of confidence. No one expected us to be in this position but we are here now and are going to give everything.
“We were expected to be promoted from League Two and League One, whereas this time around we were not expected to be in this position.
“This turnaround in six seasons is not what I envisaged happening.
“But it is a big club and we could have sold our allocation twice over for Wembley.”
Kelly joined Coventry from Leyton Orient in the summer of 2017 after the London club were relegated from League Two.
It was a crushing disappointment but Robins saw enough in Kelly to give him a quick return to the Football League.
Now the one-time Scotland international is dreaming of playing in the Premier League, even though his contract is up this summer.
Kelly said: “We can sort everything else out after the final game of the season. I am not going to pay too much concentration to that at the minute. You just want to get that winner’s medal around your neck and that trophy.”
Kelly was a regular in his first season at Coventry, making 38 appearances for a side that returned to League One at the first time of asking.
That campaign also ended with a Wembley visit for City, beating Exeter 3-1 in the playoff final.
Kelly said: “The game goes quickly. It is going to come down to the critical moments that are either going to win or lose us the final.
“When the moments come we have to be prepared to take advantage of that.
“You have to use the atmosphere to give you confidence and energy to go out there and really be on it.
“It is a great occasion but you have to play the game.”