JORDAN SEEKING TEAM GLORY
JORDAN Willis celebrated his 150th appearance for Coventry this month – but he’s eyeing a team celebration come the end of the season.
The defender is still just 23 but already feels like part of the furniture at Coventry.
Growing up in the city, Willis had a strong affinity with the club, for whom he trialled multiple times as a youngster before finally joining the Sky Blues’ academy at Under-16 level after a spell in Birmingham City’s youth ranks. His dad Ken may have influenced him to become a Manchester United fan, but his first trip to Old Trafford was to see the Red Devils take on his local team.
Having made his debut in a game against Southampton in the Championship in November 2011, Willis has experienced plenty during his Coventry career already, from the pain of relegation to the sheer euphoria of lifting the Checkatrade Trophy at Wembley last April.
Highlights
To all intents and purposes, Willis enters 2018 as a relative veteran.
“It’s a big achievement for myself, making it to 150 games,” said the Coventry defender.
“I’ve been thinking about the start of it, my debut, and I’ve been thinking about the highlights of my time here.
“Last year, winning the Checkatrade Trophy, has got to be the biggest highlight.
“Then, after that, it was making my debut and then also my first full start away at Southampton on the last day of the 2011-12 season. That was a big one as well.
“I grew up around the club. I’d always been in and out of the academy (on trial) as a youngster and then to finally make it when I was 16 and be given a chance; to see where I am now, I can only thank the academy for giving me that chance.
“My first United game was against Coventry at Old Trafford – and my dad slyly persuaded me to be a United fan after that.
“But, coming from here, you can’t help but care about your local team.”
After the Sky Blues dropped out of League One last term, this season has been Willis’ first foray into fourth-tier football.
It’s gone pretty well so far, with Coventry boasting the best defensive record in League Two before the weekend, having conceded just 18 goals.
Willis, who signed a new deal in October until June 2019, is savouring the change of pace.
“It’s a lot more physical, I’d say. Players are a lot bigger, taller, and wider,” said the former England Under-19 international.
“I think my pace comes through a bit more in this league, being a bit faster than a fair few of the strikers I’ve played against this season.
“But it’s a difficult league. Any league in England is difficult but this one is very physical and, if you’re not switched on and doing the ugly side of the game, teams will hurt you.
Achieve
“You can’t just come into a game and expect the other team to let you pass the ball around.
“You’ve got to do the ugly side of the game first – win a couple of 50-50s, put your foot in and then earn the right to play. Then, you can get the ball down and pass it around, and play our style of football.
“I think, as a team collectively, we’ve taken pride in conceding few goals.”
Naturally though, there’s only one goal in mind for Willis and his teammates.
He added: “The aim for the season is nothing but promotion, so hopefully we can achieve that and get this club back to where it belongs.
“There’s no dwelling on last year. We’ve just got to kick on and focus on this year, and get ourselves promoted.”