Coventry La La La
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City skipper taking his time.
Coventry City captain Lee Carsley, who will miss his first game of the season on Saturday through suspension, will leave it until nearer the end of the season to decide whether he wants to prolong his playing career.
At 36 years old, Carsley is still supremely fit and he has started every game do fat this season for Coventry City.
Carsley joked about missing the home game against Norwich on Saturday by saying, “I booked Sharm El Sheikh in the week so I thought I’d get away for a bit of sun!
He went on in a more serious note saying, “I haven’t missed a game yet this season, so it is going to be disappointing in that respect, but we have got a big enough squad and good enough players to come in so hopefully it won’t make too much of a difference.
“To be honest I thought I was a bit unlucky, but five bookings in 21 games for a midfielder isn’t too bad really. I was always going to get suspended at some point. I feel OK and if I didn’t I wouldn’t have carried on playing this season."
Carsley has played nearly 550 professional games in his 18 year playing career and he is still enjoying it, but he is undecided whether he will continue playing next season.
“I still feel I have got something to offer and when I think I haven’t got anything to contribute in games then I will stop playing. The fitness coach, Andy O’Boyle, has done a great programme for me during the week so a lot of my training gets changed to what the lads do, which is good and it is working because I am feeling good and ready for games.”
Carsley joined Coventry City from Birmingham City at the start of the season, signing a one year deal, but is uncertain whether he will want to extend his stay at The Ricoh.
“I will sit down and have a chat with the gaffer at some point but I am not in any rush and I am sure he’s not either,” he said.
“It’s just in the back of my mind at the minute and it will depend on how the gaffer sees the club going and what state I am in. Ask me again in another 27 or so games and I might say ‘forget it’.”
When Boothroyd brought Carsley back to the club, a few eyebrows were raised as it went against the policy of the club to recruit older players. Questions were asked about his fitness, but any fears in that direction have been firmly allayed.
His signing has proved to be popular with the fans and his contributions on the field of play have been instrumental in the form and resilience that has seen the team become difficult to beat and rise to be a contender for promotion.
Three wins and a draw in their last four game, all without conceding a goal have proved that under Bothroyd and Carsley, Coventry City are finally giving the fans some hope.
Speaking about the fourth clean sheet at Reading, Carsley said, “That was a good point. We knew that it would be a tough game. They are a difficult team to play against because they are similar in style to us."
“They had a few chances in the first 20 minutes but if you think about how we play at home, we put teams under a lot of pressure and generally don’t score early which is exactly what they did.
“Having said that, Marlon King was unlucky when he hit the post – on another day we could have been 1-0 up and he had a good shout for a penalty later on. I think Marlon can sometimes be a bit too honest in terms of when he gets touched he tries to stay on his feet. He obviously went down and the referee thought he had slipped but hopefully we will get more of those than we don’t."
“There will be a lot more times when we have to make sure we don’t concede and stay in the game but at Reading I think we got stronger as the game went on and that was a big plus for us because I think it showed we are turning into quite a resilient team."
“It sets us up nicely and although it is too early to start looking at league tables and stuff, I would rather be at this end of the table than the other. Christmas sees games coming fast and furious but we haven’t had an easy one yet so we know what to expect.”