SKY HIGH BLUES
This is how it feels to win your first promotion for 51 years.. after decades of sheer misery
MARK ROBINS can finally park his tag as the man who saved Sir Alex Ferguson’s job after ending Coventry’s 51-year drift down Misery Lane.
In 1990, Robins scored the winner at Nottingham Forest which got Fergie off the hook. And, in truth, he was heartily sick of his reference point in United’s history. Now he is Mr Blue Sky, the boss who signalled the end of austerity at Coventry. Astonishingly, the last time they won promotion at any level was in 1967. Apart from the FA Cup triumph against Tottenham 31 years ago, and last season’s tinpot consolation prize of the Checkatrade Trophy on the road to relegation, the only way has been down. But as 38,000 Sky Blues fans celebrated Coventry’s return to League One at the first attempt, Wembley was the land of rockin’ Robins. His vibrant young team never looked like fluffing their lines. The opener from Jordan Willis and an eye-of-the-needle gem from Jack Grimmer (below left, with man of the match striker Marc McNulty) were a perfect fit for the Wembley stage.
An emotional Robins said: “Promotion is something better to be remembered for (than saving Fergie’s job) and I mean that, because it’s true.
“But it’s not about me – it’s about the players reconnecting with the supporters and restoring unity at a club that was desperately in need of it. “We’ve been playing at a level no one expected us to, and the pressure that comes with that is immense.”
Exeter were staggered at the start of the second half when Jordan Shipley made it 2-0 with the aid of a cruel deflection off Pierce Sweeney that looped over stranded keeper Christy Pym. Substitute Kyle Edwards hit Exeter’s solitary reply with 60 seconds remaining but it was too little, too late – and likely to be a hollow last hurrah for boss Paul Tisdale’s era.
Ipswich are waiting in the wings to lure Tisdale to the Championship, and he gave no assurances that he would stick around in Devon.
Director of football Steve Perryman is already retiring after 15 years.
And when asked if the Grecians could cope with both of them leaving, Tisdale fired what sounded like a parting shot at the Supporters Trust who run the club.
He said: “Maybe they should have thought about that 18 months ago when they decided to put me on notice.”