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Coventry City manager Andy Thorn
ANDY Thorn admits there’s still a long way to go and a lot of hard work to be done before Coventry City can breathe a sigh of relief in their quest to stave off relegation.
The Sky Blues certainly have the upper hand over their rivals, having got themselves out of the bottom three with the momentum from a six-game unbeaten run while others are clearly feeling the heat and crumbling under the pressure.
And Thorn believes that after the season City have had, they know all about that and their young players are better equipped to deal with the strain in the final countdown to survival.
“It’s important that we don’t think that’s it, we’ve cracked it,” said the determined Coventry boss.
“We’ve got to keep our feet on the ground and keep working hard because that’s what has got us where we are. We have to maintain this form we’re on.

“We’ve put a real good run together but that doesn’t change what has gone on.
"You can’t sweep under the carpet what’s happened before.
“There is a lot of hard work to be done between now and the end of the season and we’ve got to focus purely on that.
“We believe in what we’re doing and the penny has dropped.
"We’re working extremely hard but we’re not going to get carried away thinking that’s it because we have got six more tough games to go and we have got to make sure we’re ready for every single one because as I have said before, if we come through this we will have done exceptionally well.”


Coventry City manager Andy Thorn

As for the stress of being in the thick of a relegation dog-fight, he said: “We’ve had seven months of it – in the bottom three and trying to cope with that.
“And when you’re nine points adrift at the bottom of the league and the other teams have got a game in hand over you and you are trying to teach young players the basics because they’ve never done it at this level before, that’s pressure.
“When you see your top striker go out of the door, that’s pressure, so we’ve been through that and we’ve had to solely focus on improving the players and coaching them.
“We’ve been improving them as individuals as well as trying to teach them team ethics, so we’ve had all that and it’s something we don’t want to go back to.
“And as well as managing that and trying to keep the boys bubbly, we’ve had to teach the young ones from level one.

"Some of these lads have not been coming from League One, League Two or the Conference, they’ve been coming from youth team football so we’ve not only had to manage the pressure, we’ve had to take it off those young boys as well.
“They enjoy their football and there’s nothing worse than coming in every day if you are not enjoying yourself.
"So that pressure other people are talking about, I’ve had about seven months of it, and it has been important how we manage that.
“Our expectations haven’t wavered and just because we have gone on this run we can’t afford for anyone to think we’re home and dry. We have to keep going and keep being positive.”


Good read mate

Astute said:

As for the stress of being in the thick of a relegation dog-fight, he said: “We’ve had seven months of it – in the bottom three and trying to cope with that.
“And when you’re nine points adrift at the bottom of the league and the other teams have got a game in hand over you and you are trying to teach young players the basics because they’ve never done it at this level before, that’s pressure.
“When you see your top striker go out of the door, that’s pressure, so we’ve been through that and we’ve had to solely focus on improving the players and coaching them.
“We’ve been improving them as individuals as well as trying to teach them team ethics, so we’ve had all that and it’s something we don’t want to go back to.
“And as well as managing that and trying to keep the boys bubbly, we’ve had to teach the young ones from level one.

"Some of these lads have not been coming from League One, League Two or the Conference, they’ve been coming from youth team football so we’ve not only had to manage the pressure, we’ve had to take it off those young boys as well.
“They enjoy their football and there’s nothing worse than coming in every day if you are not enjoying yourself.
"So that pressure other people are talking about, I’ve had about seven months of it, and it has been important how we manage that.
“Our expectations haven’t wavered and just because we have gone on this run we can’t afford for anyone to think we’re home and dry. We have to keep going and keep being positive.”

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Sounds like a thinly veiled dig at a certain Mr. Appleton.

1nilandwe... said:

Sounds like a thinly veiled dig at a certain Mr. Appleton.

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Quite right too. Appleton has not had anything like what Thorn has had to put up with. He's a dick.

Well said AT.

Can't argue with any of that.

We've been teaching the youngsters the basics, we've been teaching the senior players the ethics and someone has now been teaching Andy Thorn how to talk properly! :laugh:

1nilandwe... said:

Sounds like a thinly veiled dig at a certain Mr. Appleton.

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I wouldn't hold it against Thorn for using stronger words about that guy.

Me either. I hope that the handshake after the Portsmouth match was as satisfying as it should have been.

I bumped into Andy Thorn at my work Christmas party. It was the week Ken D had taken up his infamous football ops role and just before he sat in the dugout.

Ken was a grade a dick. That's all I have to say about him.

Andy really took the time and effort to talk with me about the club, what its meant to me over the years and what the club means to him. Really genuine. He said to me at the end of our light hearted conversation (complete with banter and him offending my Man U obsessed wife) with a brave statement. "It will get better, you have my word"

I didn't believe him. Although still cynical, I kinda do now.

It makes me wonder what the "boys" could do if we managed to keep them all for next season.

Don't think we will stay unbeaten for the rest of the season, but would not want to bet against it.

Fair play AT and his team, keep it up. We are all proud of you.....well I hope all of us

If we stay unbeaten for the rest of the season that will be some fantastic achievement.

It will be some achievement just staying up from where we were at one stage.

Otis said:

If we stay unbeaten for the rest of the season that will be some fantastic achievement.

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If we make it to tuesday that would be some achievement

castlevaleskyblue said:

If we make it to tuesday that would be some achievement

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I'll take losing the last game of the season as long as we win the next five(I no we would be safe by then)but don't want to go to southampton and have to get something.

coop said:

I'll take losing the last game of the season as long as we win the next five(I no we would be safe by then)but don't want to go to southampton and have to get something.

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We WILL be safe before Southampton unless there is a disaster along the way

Stop saying that we WILL be safe or that we WILL stay up. You DO NOT know that. We are one point clear for heaven's sake. Us not winning a game from now until the end of the season is just as conceivable as us going unbeaten. I very much doubt Bristol are going to roll over and die.

Going to Southampton I want us either to be safe or still have a realistic chance of it-there'd be no fun otherwise in going to celebrate another team's promotion!

1nilandwe... said:

Stop saying that we WILL be safe or that we WILL stay up. You DO NOT know that. We are one point clear for heaven's sake. Us not winning a game from now until the end of the season is just as conceivable as us going unbeaten. I very much doubt Bristol are going to roll over and die.

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Sorry, but that is the optimistic in me Like I said, unless there is a disaster along the way

Would everyone be happy with remaining unbeaten if it meant 6 draws and probable relegation ? I thought not ! I'd rather see 3 more wins with the likelehood that that will keep us up

SonofErnie said:

Would everyone be happy with remaining unbeaten if it meant 6 draws and probable relegation ? I thought not ! I'd rather see 3 more wins with the likelehood that that will keep us up

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I would be happy to draw on monday and lose every other game if we were to stay up