SHAW'S PLEA AS POTENTIAL NEW BOSSES WATCH SECOND DEFEAT
RICHARD Shaw has urged the Sky Blues' board to make a decision on the new manager “sooner rather than later“.
After seeing his side tumble to their second successive League One defeat yesterday afternoon, the caretaker boss admitted he is due to be interviewed for the job but added: “I don't know when that will be and I don't know anything about when a decision is likely to be made or how many others are involved.
“However, it does need to be decided sooner rather than later, so the players have got a definite direction about who is going to come and look after them. Whoever is put in charge will still have to work with the same group of players. The situation is out of my hands and I am not going to lose any sleep over it. “ It is understood that a short-list of nine ­ including Shaw ­ has been drawn up from 65 applications for the vacancy. Two likely candidates with previous links to the Sky Blues ­ Steve Staunton and Richard Money ­ were both seen in the stand at yesterday's game.
Former player Staunton, is currently scouting for Sunderland, while Money, who was Academy director and first-team coach, is out of work after leaving Luton Town in March 2011.
Other names being mentioned include Dennis Wise, Kevin Blackwell, Billy Davies and Eric Black and it is expected that the highly debatable foul by Elliott on the Boro keeper.
“Any time you touch the keeper these days they are going to give a foul,“ bemoaned McGoldrick whose debut goal for the club was spoiled by the final result which leaves the Sky Blues languishing in 20th in the division and only out of the relegation zone by the slenderest of goal difference.
“I have scored my first Coventry goal but I'm not happy because we've lost, so that's taken the shine off it to be honest and I'm not going home celebrating.
“Coventry should be challenging in the top half of the table but we've had a slow start to the season and we're not very happy at the moment.“
The striker's sublime tenth-minute opener was an early contender for the club's goal of the season and all the more impressive because the hardworking player battled to win the ball first to create space for himself to shoot.
“There is a lot of hustle and bustle in this league and sometimes you have to feed off scraps or battle for the ball and come out with it,” he said. “I’m always looking to shoot and luckily enough it went in. I can’t say top corner every time is my trademark but I like to have a shot from distance and sometimes they go in and sometimes they don’t.” Sadly, not everyone wearing the shirt lived up to his determination on the day as City looked pedestrian and casual in midfield and continually gave the ball away and made mistakes outside of the impressive front two. They also continued a long running theme of being unable to concentrate at key moments at the back – highlighted by the visitors’ winning goal from a corner. But if gifting a centre-forward a free header from a set-piece is bad enough, Stevenage’s leveller was unforgivable for the fact that it started in their own half from a throw-in. Adam Barton was too casual and promptly lost possession, leaving the ball to be played diagonally across the halfway line where Richard Wood mis-timed his challenge and before City knew it Freeman was played out wide where he hit a powerful shot, forcing Mur
phy to save and Shroot to bury the rebound with just 20 minutes gone.
The life and confidence then seemed to drain out of City who lacked leaders and direction on the field, playing right into the hands of the opposition who were more than happy to sit tight and hit them on the break.
The Sky Blues came out in the second half and made another promising start, McGoldrick going close again when he got on the end of a deflected Wood shot, only to see his far-post header pushed wide by Chris Day.
Murphy then denied full-back Darius Charles who tried to chip him after being played clean through far too easily with what was Stevenage's best chance from open play. But woeful defending 20 minutes from time gifted Gary Smith's men the full three points, continuing their enviable unbeaten start in the league and seeing them jump to third in the table.
McGoldrick said: “Their first goal was from our throw in and we gave the ball away and they went up the other end of the pitch and scored. The second one is a corner and their man has got in front of a couple of our lads on the near post and flicked it on and they have gone and headed in, so it’s a sloppy mistake and it’s our own personal errors that are costing us at the minute.
“Set-pieces are what teams like Stevenage work for. They came here and sat and then counter attacked and got their set-piece. Coventry is a good club with a great stadium and teams are going to come here and it’s a big day out for them.” But the 24-year-old remains confident that City will come good, adding: “We can still make the top six. I know from my time at Forest, we didn’t win for our first eight games and we finished third and lost out on automatic by one point, so there’s still everything to play for.” Whoever sits in front of the club’s hirers and firers – chief executive Tim Fisher and development director Steve Waggott – this week will no doubt be spouting the same line.
Only time will tell if they can deliver.
RICHARD Shaw has urged the Sky Blues' board to make a decision on the new manager “sooner rather than later“.
After seeing his side tumble to their second successive League One defeat yesterday afternoon, the caretaker boss admitted he is due to be interviewed for the job but added: “I don't know when that will be and I don't know anything about when a decision is likely to be made or how many others are involved.
“However, it does need to be decided sooner rather than later, so the players have got a definite direction about who is going to come and look after them. Whoever is put in charge will still have to work with the same group of players. The situation is out of my hands and I am not going to lose any sleep over it. “ It is understood that a short-list of nine ­ including Shaw ­ has been drawn up from 65 applications for the vacancy. Two likely candidates with previous links to the Sky Blues ­ Steve Staunton and Richard Money ­ were both seen in the stand at yesterday's game.
Former player Staunton, is currently scouting for Sunderland, while Money, who was Academy director and first-team coach, is out of work after leaving Luton Town in March 2011.
Other names being mentioned include Dennis Wise, Kevin Blackwell, Billy Davies and Eric Black and it is expected that the highly debatable foul by Elliott on the Boro keeper.
“Any time you touch the keeper these days they are going to give a foul,“ bemoaned McGoldrick whose debut goal for the club was spoiled by the final result which leaves the Sky Blues languishing in 20th in the division and only out of the relegation zone by the slenderest of goal difference.
“I have scored my first Coventry goal but I'm not happy because we've lost, so that's taken the shine off it to be honest and I'm not going home celebrating.
“Coventry should be challenging in the top half of the table but we've had a slow start to the season and we're not very happy at the moment.“
The striker's sublime tenth-minute opener was an early contender for the club's goal of the season and all the more impressive because the hardworking player battled to win the ball first to create space for himself to shoot.
“There is a lot of hustle and bustle in this league and sometimes you have to feed off scraps or battle for the ball and come out with it,” he said. “I’m always looking to shoot and luckily enough it went in. I can’t say top corner every time is my trademark but I like to have a shot from distance and sometimes they go in and sometimes they don’t.” Sadly, not everyone wearing the shirt lived up to his determination on the day as City looked pedestrian and casual in midfield and continually gave the ball away and made mistakes outside of the impressive front two. They also continued a long running theme of being unable to concentrate at key moments at the back – highlighted by the visitors’ winning goal from a corner. But if gifting a centre-forward a free header from a set-piece is bad enough, Stevenage’s leveller was unforgivable for the fact that it started in their own half from a throw-in. Adam Barton was too casual and promptly lost possession, leaving the ball to be played diagonally across the halfway line where Richard Wood mis-timed his challenge and before City knew it Freeman was played out wide where he hit a powerful shot, forcing Mur
phy to save and Shroot to bury the rebound with just 20 minutes gone.
The life and confidence then seemed to drain out of City who lacked leaders and direction on the field, playing right into the hands of the opposition who were more than happy to sit tight and hit them on the break.
The Sky Blues came out in the second half and made another promising start, McGoldrick going close again when he got on the end of a deflected Wood shot, only to see his far-post header pushed wide by Chris Day.
Murphy then denied full-back Darius Charles who tried to chip him after being played clean through far too easily with what was Stevenage's best chance from open play. But woeful defending 20 minutes from time gifted Gary Smith's men the full three points, continuing their enviable unbeaten start in the league and seeing them jump to third in the table.
McGoldrick said: “Their first goal was from our throw in and we gave the ball away and they went up the other end of the pitch and scored. The second one is a corner and their man has got in front of a couple of our lads on the near post and flicked it on and they have gone and headed in, so it’s a sloppy mistake and it’s our own personal errors that are costing us at the minute.
“Set-pieces are what teams like Stevenage work for. They came here and sat and then counter attacked and got their set-piece. Coventry is a good club with a great stadium and teams are going to come here and it’s a big day out for them.” But the 24-year-old remains confident that City will come good, adding: “We can still make the top six. I know from my time at Forest, we didn’t win for our first eight games and we finished third and lost out on automatic by one point, so there’s still everything to play for.” Whoever sits in front of the club’s hirers and firers – chief executive Tim Fisher and development director Steve Waggott – this week will no doubt be spouting the same line.
Only time will tell if they can deliver.
