Forward of Saturday’s Championship playoff ultimate, Coventry Metropolis reporter Andy Turner profiles among the key figures within the Sky Blues’ quest for a Premier League return.
Supervisor: Mark Robins
Having had a brief however extremely candy 5 months in control of Coventry between September and February within the 2012/13 League One marketing campaign, earlier than being lured away by Championship facet Huddersfield City, Robins returned to the membership on the again finish of 2017.
His first achievement noticed the membership carry the EFL Trophy after victory over Oxford United at Wembley Stadium. That was the turning level for Coventry, with the supervisor placing off-field politics to at least one facet and galvanising the followers and gamers with a “Rise Collectively” mantra and mentality that has stayed true to this very day.
A summer season rebuild adopted and, regardless of a sluggish begin to life in League Two, Robins led Coventry to a sixth-place end and the playoffs, beating Notts County in a memorable semi-final second leg at Meadow Lane forward of a ultimate victory over Exeter Metropolis.
A second promotion as League One champions got here in 2019/20, earlier than Coventry re-established themselves within the Championship regardless of a bottom-six funds of their first two seasons again.
See: Coventry’s lengthy highway to the playoff ultimate
With sensible recruitment, supplemented by a sprinkling of magic within the mortgage market, Robins has construct a squad that has defied all the chances this season, attributable to but extra off-field adversity from a string of early-season dwelling postponements and the sale of one in every of his finest defenders, Dominic Hyam, towards his needs.
Throw in long-term accidents to star midfielder Callum O’Hare and fellow playmaker Kasey Palmer and a fifth-place end has been all of the extra exceptional for the Championship’s longest-serving supervisor, who celebrated his sixth anniversary in March.
Ben Wilson (GKP)
Since being handed the No 1 spot 4 matches into the 2022/23 marketing campaign, the 30-year-old hasn’t regarded again, taking his probability with each gloves to cement his place as Robins’ first-choice goalkeeper.
It has been an unimaginable season for the bubbly character from the North East, who has stored an impressive 22 clear sheets – 20 within the common season, an all-time membership file for a goalkeeper at Coventry, and two extra within the playoff semi-finals – to earn the EFL Golden Glove and a spot within the Championship’s official Workforce of the Season.
The icing on the cake was his last-minute objective from a nook at Blackburn Rovers which secured an important level to maintain the promotion hopes alive.
Gustavo Hamer (MID)
The Brazilian-born Dutchman has been nothing in need of sensational in his third season with Coventry. A deep-lying playmaker by commerce, Hamer joined the membership from PEC Zwolle in the summertime of 2020 for a reported £1.3million.
He’s an all-rounder who’s simply as more likely to pop up nicking the ball in his personal half as driving into the opposition field and discovering the again of the online.
Hamer is a category aside by way of his studying of the sport and high quality on the ball. He’s consistently stealing possession and sparking assaults, and has made eight objective contributions (4 objectives and 4 assists) within the final seven matches.
Crucially, he scored the winner with a surprising top-corner end towards Middlesbrough within the playoff semi-final to e-book Coventry’s place at Wembley.
Extra not too long ago deployed on the high of a midfield field, the vigorous 25-year-old has 10 objectives thus far this season and is arguably the staff’s finest participant – an actual matchwinner who oozes star high quality.
Viktor Gyokeres (FWD)
Signed on a half-season mortgage from Brighton & Hove Albion in January 2021, the Sweden worldwide took time to get going up entrance, scoring simply three objectives in his first 5 months.
Nonetheless, he confirmed sufficient uncooked expertise in that point to immediate Coventry to improve his transfer to a everlasting contract for simply over £1m that summer season – an astute little bit of enterprise that paid instantaneous dividends with a return of 18 objectives in all competitions in his first full season.
A giant and highly effective centre-forward, Gyokeres is at his most harmful when working at defenders with the ball, twisting and turning them inside out earlier than choosing his spot.
He struck 21 objectives this time period within the common season, regardless of opposition managers repeatedly instructing their defenders to double up on him. He has been linked with a stack of Premier League admirers and, on his day, is just unplayable.
Andy Turner, is the Coventry Metropolis reporter for Coventry Dwell, and has lined the membership since 1998
Additionally on this sequence
Half 1: Coventry’s lengthy highway to the playoff ultimate
Half 3: How Luton fell far and rose excessive once more
Half 4: Luton’s key males
