THE SKY Blues come face to face with the striker that got away tomorrow * Cov Kid James Collins.
The former Shrewsbury Town forward, who was on City's books as boy, might well have been playing against Swindon this weekend rather than trying to put one over on his home-town club had they not been restricted by a transfer embargo in the summer.
He was Andy Thorn's No.1 target and a deal was close to being done, but the 21-year-old couldn't wait any longer and Paolo Di Canio pounced.
In a strange twist of fate, he now finds himself in an embargo after the Cardinal Wiseman old boy's tribunal fee helped tip the Football League's fair play rules of clubs being allowed to only spend 65 per cent of their turnover.
The Robins drafted in ten new players in the close season as the charismatic Italian virtually replaced the team that finished as League Two champions, hell bent on achieving back-to-back promotions.
But fans might be surprised to hear that the Town boss is an admirer of the players at Mark Robins' disposal, revealing: “If I read to you seven players that Coventry have in their squad or stand out, I would have every single one. Not because I don't have good players but because I would have them for their pedigree, for their quality and their knowledge. I would have them to stretch my squad.“
Having clearly done his homework, the 44-year-old former West Ham star added: “McSheffrey 40 Premiership appearances, 266 Championship appearances; Kilbane 325 Premiership appearances, 109 national appearances; Elliott 17 Premiership appearances, 141 Championship appearances; McGoldrick 130 Championship appearances; Wood 206 Championship appearances; Bell 155 Championship appearances; Murphy 155 Championship appearances. I don't mention Cody McDonald * a talented player * I don't mention Ball.
“Now with a new manager you see they have a different discipline, you see they have won their last two games, this is the dimension.“
And just when you thought the mind games couldn't go any deeper, Di Canio suggested his high fliers are the underdogs.
“When we played Leyton Orient people forgot that there were three players on the field with over 300 games in the Championship and Premiership,“ he said; “how many have we got?
“Tommy Miller, Alan Navarro had a small experience last year, Jay McEveley.
It doesn't mean I underestimate my players but it means in one game, even if we are top, it stays 50-50.
“They have two or three players that in one moment of football can damage you.
“You can see in some situations when we are blurry those players come out and show that they are not blurry * Tommy and Jay McEveley in some way. The others, with all respect, when things go in some way don't.“
“We have already done a fantastic job without doing anything special. We have a big space to improve because we have quality to improve. I'm happy, I will work hard to improve my players.“
The chatty Roman stretched his analysis further by factoring in the new man ager effect, admitting he wished he could have played the Sky Blues a month ago.
“Since Mark Robins arrived they have won three games and he has sent a straight message because he has not changed many players.
“He maybe wants to make this team more solid and only through victories can they get the right mentality. It's not coincidence that he played for Man United.
“You can see there is a better discipline, shape, a real 4-4-2, they have knowledge.
Now he has brought in discipline, desire, a better work ethic you can see it is a different team. It's no coincidence.
“They are just over the relegation zone but before he was in charge they were in the relegation zone and then two games * boom, boom! “Like Colchester the change of manager means bringing in meritocracy and enthusiasm and that means a lot for their side.
“They come with different enthusiasm.
I wanted to meet them four weeks ago to be honest when I saw them play against Stevenage, I said I couldn't wait.
“Now I want to play anyway because we play at home, we are going to play with determination but now it's more tough * just like Colchester.
“It is three times in a row now that we have met a team that changed their man ager two weeks before and you can see the difference.
“Fortunately the last game we won * but three in a row?“
The former Shrewsbury Town forward, who was on City's books as boy, might well have been playing against Swindon this weekend rather than trying to put one over on his home-town club had they not been restricted by a transfer embargo in the summer.
He was Andy Thorn's No.1 target and a deal was close to being done, but the 21-year-old couldn't wait any longer and Paolo Di Canio pounced.
In a strange twist of fate, he now finds himself in an embargo after the Cardinal Wiseman old boy's tribunal fee helped tip the Football League's fair play rules of clubs being allowed to only spend 65 per cent of their turnover.
The Robins drafted in ten new players in the close season as the charismatic Italian virtually replaced the team that finished as League Two champions, hell bent on achieving back-to-back promotions.
But fans might be surprised to hear that the Town boss is an admirer of the players at Mark Robins' disposal, revealing: “If I read to you seven players that Coventry have in their squad or stand out, I would have every single one. Not because I don't have good players but because I would have them for their pedigree, for their quality and their knowledge. I would have them to stretch my squad.“
Having clearly done his homework, the 44-year-old former West Ham star added: “McSheffrey 40 Premiership appearances, 266 Championship appearances; Kilbane 325 Premiership appearances, 109 national appearances; Elliott 17 Premiership appearances, 141 Championship appearances; McGoldrick 130 Championship appearances; Wood 206 Championship appearances; Bell 155 Championship appearances; Murphy 155 Championship appearances. I don't mention Cody McDonald * a talented player * I don't mention Ball.
“Now with a new manager you see they have a different discipline, you see they have won their last two games, this is the dimension.“
And just when you thought the mind games couldn't go any deeper, Di Canio suggested his high fliers are the underdogs.
“When we played Leyton Orient people forgot that there were three players on the field with over 300 games in the Championship and Premiership,“ he said; “how many have we got?
“Tommy Miller, Alan Navarro had a small experience last year, Jay McEveley.
It doesn't mean I underestimate my players but it means in one game, even if we are top, it stays 50-50.
“They have two or three players that in one moment of football can damage you.
“You can see in some situations when we are blurry those players come out and show that they are not blurry * Tommy and Jay McEveley in some way. The others, with all respect, when things go in some way don't.“
“We have already done a fantastic job without doing anything special. We have a big space to improve because we have quality to improve. I'm happy, I will work hard to improve my players.“
The chatty Roman stretched his analysis further by factoring in the new man ager effect, admitting he wished he could have played the Sky Blues a month ago.
“Since Mark Robins arrived they have won three games and he has sent a straight message because he has not changed many players.
“He maybe wants to make this team more solid and only through victories can they get the right mentality. It's not coincidence that he played for Man United.
“You can see there is a better discipline, shape, a real 4-4-2, they have knowledge.
Now he has brought in discipline, desire, a better work ethic you can see it is a different team. It's no coincidence.
“They are just over the relegation zone but before he was in charge they were in the relegation zone and then two games * boom, boom! “Like Colchester the change of manager means bringing in meritocracy and enthusiasm and that means a lot for their side.
“They come with different enthusiasm.
I wanted to meet them four weeks ago to be honest when I saw them play against Stevenage, I said I couldn't wait.
“Now I want to play anyway because we play at home, we are going to play with determination but now it's more tough * just like Colchester.
“It is three times in a row now that we have met a team that changed their man ager two weeks before and you can see the difference.
“Fortunately the last game we won * but three in a row?“
