Robins: Teamwork off the pitch is vital
What I have got is Adi who is a top coach, and I mean a top coach, who can work and manage the training ground sessions.
Mark Robins
MARK Robins and his players take the majority of the credit for Coventry City’s incredible success during his managerial reign over the last five years.
But the Sky Blues boss is quick to point to the often unsung heroes in his backroom, in particular his trusty assistant Adi Viveash and latest addition to his small but hard-working support team, Dennis Lawrence and Aled Williams.
Robins has hailed the contributions of his coaching staff after another impressive season when the club have served up some thoroughly entertaining performances and spectacular results, ending with a top half finish after a campaign when they had been competing, unexpectedly, for the play-offs.
Asked how important Viveash and
Lawrence have been to him in terms of how successful the club have been in recent years, Robins said: “They are huge!
“My role changes depending on the needs of the club or the circumstances and scenarios at the time really. But what I have got is Adi who is a top coach, and I mean a top coach, who can work and manage the training ground sessions and everything that goes with that with his eyes shut. So that takes a massive amount of weight from my shoulders, there’s no doubt about it.”
Viveash, 52, who had almost ten years as a highly decorated coach at Chelsea where he led the Premier League club’s Academy and development sides to outstanding success during his time at Stamford Bridge, joined the Sky Blues in the summer of 2017, just as City were about to embark on their bounce-back journey from League Two.
Lawrence, meanwhile, joined the club last summer, having previously assisted Roberto Martinez at Wigan and Everton as well as managing the Trinidad and Tobago national team. “Dennis has come in and supported that in a way that he has got some really good ideas,” Robins added. “Some of his work is really good to watch and it’s part of what we do, so different drills and things like that, which he’s been confined to really because Adi does the majority of things. But by no means underestimate what Dennis does and has done, and the contribution he’s made.
“Obviously he’s looking at set plays, both for and against, and looking at corners for and against, free-kicks for and against on a regular basis, and with success as well.
“You’re looking at delivery from players and we have looked at things, and next season we will try to make things a little more cohesive. But they have added huge value.”
He added: “Aled works with the goalkeepers and we are a small group of staff but they work really hard and the quality of their work is outstanding, so they play a huge and significant role in what we do, there’s no doubt about it. They are very, very good people.”