CoventryLive brings you the latest Coventry City news, as Southampton’s boss provides his opinion on the Sky Blues after St Mary’s defeat undermines their play-off aspirations.
Russell Martin praised Southampton’s character after they defeated play-off contenders Coventry City to snap a three-game winless streak.
The Saints’ automatic promotion hopes were all but dashed after draws against Middlesbrough and Blackburn, sandwiched by a last-gasp defeat to rivals Ipswich, leaving them nine points behind top-two Leicester City and Leeds United.
However, after seeing Che Adams score twice in a 2-1 victory over the Sky Blues to revive their momentum towards a possible play-off campaign, the Southampton manager said: “That will relieve a lot of pressure. We shown resilience and character, and I am proud of the boys.
“We played so well in the first half; it was the complete opposite of Saturday [against Blackburn]. There was some fantastic play, and we should have scored more goals because we created so many chances.
“Then they had a spell in the second half of about 15 minutes that hurt us because they scored.” They’re a good team, and you have to understand that the opposition will have a moment, but I felt we were too loose with the ball at that point.
“They’re a good side with real attacking threat who we’ve limited to very little – I think two shots on target, which is not normal for them.”
Coventry defender Jake Bidwell comfortably netted his first goal since January 2023, setting up a nail-biting finish for the hosts, although the Sky Blues will rue Haji Wright’s 10th-minute penalty miss as the forward slipped while attempting to convert.
Coventry manager Mark Robins stated, “It would have been a different story if he hadn’t slipped for the penalty, but it wouldn’t have been a different story in the first half because we didn’t compete.” We did not arrive till halftime.
Defeat keeps the Sky Blues three points behind sixth-placed Norwich City with a game in hand, but Preston joined them on 63 points after a 4-1 thrashing of Huddersfield Town.
It was their second defeat in three games, which is not the type of form the Robins will like to see as the season comes to a close. Coventry face relegation-threatened Birmingham City on Saturday (3pm).
