Championship play-off 'Q & A': Coventry City

With the prize of a Premier League place at stake, Coventry City take on Luton Town in the Championship play-off final this Saturday in what promises to be a fascinating encounter. 

The Hatters drew strength from early season managerial upheaval to finish third in the table under Rob Edwards, while Mark Robins masterminded a stunning turnaround in the Sky Blues' season to nab fifth place. 

Luton saw off a spirited Sunderland side to book their place at Wembley, while Coventry beat play-off favourites Middlesbrough over two legs to earn their place in this weekend's winner-takes-all tussle. 

As part of our play-off final previews across the EFL, we chatted to @WardySBE from Twitter account Sky Blues Extra to review Coventry's season so far and set the scene for Saturday's showdown. 

1. After just one win in your first 10 league fixtures of the season, could you possibly imagine ending the season in the Championship play-off final?

I couldn’t possibly imagine we would end up 5th in the table after such a slow start. Even before the pitch issues there was a general consensus that any improvement on last season’s 12th place finish would be deemed a success but sitting bottom in October, nobody could foresee the incredible rise and run we went on.

2. A 1-0 win against Cardiff in mid-October seemed to turn the tide, what factors were behind Coventry's transformation from relegation candidates to promotion hopefuls?

The win away at Cardiff was certainly a big turning point and I remember the celebrations at the final whistle feeling a huge amount of togetherness among the players and also the fans. The togetherness, team spirit and culture Mark Robins and the players have created had certainly been a huge factor in our rise up the table. I have to also mention Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer who have been incredible this season with 31 goals and 21 assists between them.

3. Mark Robins is in his seventh season with the Sky Blues; was there a 'seven year itch' on the terraces when results were bad, or did the fans stick with him given his fine work to that point?

To be fair to Mark Robins he couldn’t be blamed for the slow start. This was down to issues beyond his control with the pitch not being fit for purpose and Wasps, the landlords at the time, not having the financial resources to rectify the problem. The fans certainly stuck by Robins and there was only a very small minority questioning his position at the club.

4. What have been Coventry's main strengths this season in your opinion?

Defensively we’ve been excellent this season conceding just 46 goals which is the fourth best defensive record in the league. Spearheaded by Kyle McFadzean we’ve been incredibly resolute at the back. I feel the two legs against Middlesbrough typified this as were able to ride the storm very effectively and by keeping the score at 0-0 in the 2nd leg we always had a chance of nicking it.

Our biggest strength this season is how effective we’ve been in the transition to attack. There have been many occasions this season where we’ve won the ball back in our own half and swarmed up the pitch very quickly with players like Gyokeres and Hamer linking up and causing chaos for defences. One stat I read the other day from Opta – we’ve had 123 direct attacks this season with the next highest being Sunderland and Norwich on 77.

💥 Double figures for goals AND assists (top 4 tiers; 22/23):

⚽️🅰️ Salah (19G, 10A)
⚽️🅰️ Saka (13G, 11A)
⚽️🅰️ GYOKERES (21G, 11A)
⚽️🅰️ HAMER (10G, 10A)
⚽️🅰️ Ndiaye (14G, 10A)
⚽️🅰️ Collins (16G, 11A)#PUSB @Coventry_City pic.twitter.com/xyMQgndU0Q

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) May 18, 2023

5. You've already mentioned Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer. Just how crucial have they been to your promotion push...and have you forgiven us for putting Hamer 57th in our countdown of the top performers in the EFL in 2022/23?

These two have been incredible this season. I personally think it’s criminal that Hamer wasn’t included in the EFL team of the season. He has tonnes of ability and completely controls the game in midfield. We’ve seen him push a bit higher up the pitch this season and has notched up 10 goals and 11 assists from that position.

His goal away at Boro typified how he can grab the game by the scruff of the neck and take his chance to win the game. Vik has also had another superb season notching up 21 goals. If you want to get a sense of his abilities, I would recommend watching his goal vs Wigan at home this season.

6. What do you make of your opponents on Saturday, Luton Town? Do you think Coventry match up well against them?

It’s an incredibly intriguing game on Saturday and it seems from the neutral's point of view it’s hard to pick a winner. Luton are a very effective side and did a job on Sunderland in the play offs in that second leg back at Kenilworth Road. With our solid defence I can’t see them getting as much room in behind for Adebayo and Morris so I feel utilising their wing backs in Drameh and Doughty and getting balls into the box could be the way they try and hurt us.

7. Coventry were in League Two as recently as 2017/18 - just how big an achievement would it be if you were to win at Wembley?

It would be one of the greatest if not the greatest achievement in English football in my opinion. I know clubs in the past have gone from League 2 (or the 3rd division) all the way to the top of the pyramid but few have done it with the issues that Coventry have had to endure. Not only have we developed on the pitch, but it has to be remembered that in the past 10 years we’ve had to ground share 3 times and suffered multiple points deductions. Mark Robins has done an incredible job whatever happens on Saturday but if his side can get past Luton then I think he puts himself in the English football hall of fame.

8. Finally, if you dare, what's your prediction for the game?

I hate predictions and I rarely get them right. Heart says 2-1 to the Sky Blues, head says Luton after extra time.

📊Played in each of the top four tiers (fr. 2000):

⭐️Blackpool
⭐️Bolton
⭐️Bournemouth
⭐️Bradford
⭐️Brentford
⭐️Brighton
⭐️Cardiff
⭐️Coventry
⭐️Huddersfield
⭐️Hull
⭐️Portsmouth
⭐️Swansea

❓Will @Coventry_City prevent @LutonTown joining the list?#COYH #PUSB #EFLPlayOffs pic.twitter.com/WDRQAMOOZX

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) May 18, 2023