Friday’s visit of Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham to the Coventry Building Society Arena marks the start of a key month in the Sky Blues’ season.
The summer loss of Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer had a negative effect, but Robins is convinced that the replacements brought in are ready to start firing on all cylinders. And he sees last Saturday’s reverse at second-placed Ipswich as another classic illustration of all this season’s what if
Having been 2-0 down to the high-riding Tractor Boys, City rallied in the second half, missed a penalty and, although their consolation goal did not come until the 96th minute, they came frustratingly close to snatching a result.
“If you’re not on the front foot in your head, you can end up giving teams a bit too much space and too much respect,” Robins said.
“We’re just lacking in that a bit. We’ve got to give ourselves an opportunity to be in the game, but not to step back.
“Whilst you can give teams respect, you can give them too much respect and you then work together to win the ball back.”
The two goals were the first summer signing Brad Collins had conceded in four games since being brought in to replace Ben Wilson as keeper after the 3-2 defeat at Preston – and one of them was a stunner from Wes Burns.
But, while only five Championship sides have conceded fewer goals than Coventry’s 23 in 19 games, they are a bottom-half team when it comes to scoring. Just 24 goals. And they have to improve on that, if they are to improve on their current place in 17th, eight points shy of the play-off places.
They now have a scheduled nine-game stretch (five home league games against Blues, Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday, Swansea City. Oxford United in the FA Cup and current leaders Leicester City on 13 January), with only three away games in that sequence – although all tough ones at Leeds, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.
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