Coventry City take lead out their top class ace to Blackburn Rovers’s book in bid to buck early season trend
Coventry City pre-season news from CoventryLive as Sky Blues boss Mark Robins explains his thinking behind this summer’s testing schedule of warm-up fixtures
Mark Robins has revealed that he took inspiration from M69 rivals Leicester City for Coventry City’s “really challenging” pre-season programme.
The Sky Blues have started their previous two Championship campaigns poorly, and the manager is determined to buck that trend this season, believing a more demanding programme of friendly warm-up matches will help better prepare his players to hit the ground running when they kick-off against Stoke next month.
The last two summers have seen City travel to face largely League One and League Two opposition, including the likes of Shrewsbury Town, Forest Green Rovers, Exeter City, MK Dons and Walsall. This summer, however, following a low-key behind-closed-doors opener against lower league opposition this weekend, the Sky Blues will then face Spanish top flight side Getafe at the tail end of next week’s training camp in Valencia. Then will come games against SV Darmstadt – newly relegated from the German Bundesliga – Premier League Everton and another top flight German side, Werder Bremen at the CBS Arena.
There’s also a trip to League One Stevenage thrown in on the return from Spain.
“It’s a really challenging pre-season but a really good one,” Robins told CoventryLive. “It was deliberate, that’s what I wanted. We looked at Leicester’s pre-season preparations before we played them at their place in the first game of last season and they were playing against Liverpool in Thailand, that level of opposition.
“We played against some good opponents but when you are going into a game like that you want to have been tested during the pre-season. And now it is particularly challenging, but they are brilliant games to play in and everyone is looking forward to them.
“Everyone can be excited and we get two games at the CBS as well, which we haven’t done for a while.”
Robins is hoping to avoid any injuries to his players during the friendly run-outs and insists that levels of performance, rather than results, are the most important aspect of the schedule.
“Hopefully we can get through this pre-season with everyone intact,” he said. “Results wise, I am not too concerned about that but performance-wise we are looking for improvements so that we’re ready to go against Stoke. It’s challenging but it’s really good.
“We have got some top players who have got the chance to show what they’re about before the season kicks off. It’s a tough start but it doesn’t matter what the league is like it’s always tough.”
City are due to return for their first domestic friendly on the weekend of July 20/21.
