NEW manager Mark Robins has no doubt that he can reverse Coventry City's alarming slide down the Football League ladder * and he is banking on the supporters to play a key role in his rescue mission.
Having signed a three-year deal at the Ricoh Arena yesterday, he warned the fans that it might not be pretty in the short term but promised them that better times are ahead.
“It's a big job, a tough ask,“ said City's 11th boss in 11 years, “but every job you walk into has got its challenges and this could be such a great, great club.
“It's got tradition and potential and I am going to try to build on that. There has been a ten-year slide in terms of results and we have got to try to stop that.
“We have got to make sure we do the right things for this football club to develop players for the future but first and foremost we have to make sure things are right on the pitch because otherwise all the plans you start talking about over the next three years and beyond don't happen.
“It's about the players taking responsibility, fighting for the shirt, for the supporters, the directors and the owners.
“We want a good football team and a good way of playing, bringing that through from the Academy to the first team.
“No player goes out to play poorly or give the ball away but it happens because we're all human. What they have to do is make sure they look after their own performances because when the crowd see that they'll get behind them and hopefully more will come through the turnstiles and become our 12th man.
“I have spoken at length with the club about the possibility of players coming in so we will move on that in due course. I need to assess what I need and I am already down the line with that in terms of having a look around, and I have good contacts in the Premier League.
“Everything will be done in the correct manner and the best interests of this football club. Certainly I think I will be backed to the hilt but what I will do is make sure we balance the books because we won't be spending for the sake of it. We'll make sure we have got a competitive team on the pitch and one that gets results.
Robins has just 48 hours to impose his ideas on a side whose confidence hit rock bottom during Tuesday night's 4-1 defat at Shrewsbury.
“I didn't see that match but I had someone there so I was getting the information and results like that are unacceptable,“ he said. “We can all come out with platitudes about work ethic but it's right because the supporters expect that.
“That game has gone now and I can't do anything about that. What I can do is make sure we move forward in the proper manner and now things are finalised and I can start planning for Carlisle on Saturday.
“Everyone has got a clean slate and that includes the staff.
“I am not going to make any snap decisions *I have got to see qualities in people and whether they can help me and help implement what I want them to do. We'll see over the coming days and weeks and take it from there. People have got to understand and remember why they started playing football in the first place.
“They play because they enjoy it, then they get good at it and then they get paid for it * but let's get back to enjoying it. We have to do the job properly and be professional but there's got to be an element of fun along the way.
“Coventry have had seven games, which is about the same as when I went in at Barnsley; they had one point and we've got three so in that sense it's a positive “I am under no illusions but this is a great opportunity * whoever got this job was in charge of a great football club and something they can mould into something really special later on. It might not be pretty at times because there is a period of transition coming. But stick with us because it will change.“
Having signed a three-year deal at the Ricoh Arena yesterday, he warned the fans that it might not be pretty in the short term but promised them that better times are ahead.
“It's a big job, a tough ask,“ said City's 11th boss in 11 years, “but every job you walk into has got its challenges and this could be such a great, great club.
“It's got tradition and potential and I am going to try to build on that. There has been a ten-year slide in terms of results and we have got to try to stop that.
“We have got to make sure we do the right things for this football club to develop players for the future but first and foremost we have to make sure things are right on the pitch because otherwise all the plans you start talking about over the next three years and beyond don't happen.
“It's about the players taking responsibility, fighting for the shirt, for the supporters, the directors and the owners.
“We want a good football team and a good way of playing, bringing that through from the Academy to the first team.
“No player goes out to play poorly or give the ball away but it happens because we're all human. What they have to do is make sure they look after their own performances because when the crowd see that they'll get behind them and hopefully more will come through the turnstiles and become our 12th man.
“I have spoken at length with the club about the possibility of players coming in so we will move on that in due course. I need to assess what I need and I am already down the line with that in terms of having a look around, and I have good contacts in the Premier League.
“Everything will be done in the correct manner and the best interests of this football club. Certainly I think I will be backed to the hilt but what I will do is make sure we balance the books because we won't be spending for the sake of it. We'll make sure we have got a competitive team on the pitch and one that gets results.
Robins has just 48 hours to impose his ideas on a side whose confidence hit rock bottom during Tuesday night's 4-1 defat at Shrewsbury.
“I didn't see that match but I had someone there so I was getting the information and results like that are unacceptable,“ he said. “We can all come out with platitudes about work ethic but it's right because the supporters expect that.
“That game has gone now and I can't do anything about that. What I can do is make sure we move forward in the proper manner and now things are finalised and I can start planning for Carlisle on Saturday.
“Everyone has got a clean slate and that includes the staff.
“I am not going to make any snap decisions *I have got to see qualities in people and whether they can help me and help implement what I want them to do. We'll see over the coming days and weeks and take it from there. People have got to understand and remember why they started playing football in the first place.
“They play because they enjoy it, then they get good at it and then they get paid for it * but let's get back to enjoying it. We have to do the job properly and be professional but there's got to be an element of fun along the way.
“Coventry have had seven games, which is about the same as when I went in at Barnsley; they had one point and we've got three so in that sense it's a positive “I am under no illusions but this is a great opportunity * whoever got this job was in charge of a great football club and something they can mould into something really special later on. It might not be pretty at times because there is a period of transition coming. But stick with us because it will change.“
