Coventry City can start planning for next season after reaching 51 points, which has secured their position in the Championship for a second-straight campaign.

A run of three straight victories in recent weeks got the Sky Blues clear of danger, however it was following the 1-0 defeat to Preston North End on Saturday that safety was confirmed, with neither Derby County or Sheffield Wednesday able to catch them in the table.

It will be seen as a successful season for Cov fans, with their team having one of the smaller budgets in the league and Mark Robins has put together mainly a young, hungry side that has enough experience with the likes of Matty Godden, Kyle McFadzean and Liam Kelly to get results.

There's no doubting that the club will need to strengthen their squad for the second season, with a top half finish probably on the agenda - let's look at how they could line up at the start of the 2021/22 campaign.

There has been little in the way of transfer rumours at Coventry, but one thing is for sure - a new goalkeeper is definitely needed this summer.

Neither Marko Marosi or Ben Wilson have really convinced this season and Wilson in particular showed his flaws against Preston when he let the ball bounce over him and subsequently conceded a penalty.

A real Championship quality stopper is needed and one who is out of contract at the end of this season is Walton.

The 25-year-old is contracted to Brighton and has had loan spells in the Championship in recent seasons with Wigan and Blackburn, but it could be time to move on from the Seagulls permanently and he'd be a great fit for the Sky Blues.

Hyam is out of contract at the end of the season but he will surely be getting a new one offered to him now Championship football for next season has been secured.

The 25-year-old Scot has missed just three games for Cov this season and he's been a real rock, and even though there's a few centre-back options like Michael Rose and another out of contract player in Kyle McFadzean, Hyam looks likely to be a first choice.

A new deal will surely be on the table but it will be up to Hyam to sign it - but he may have other offers on the table as well that he will want to consider despite being a guaranteed starter at the Ricoh Arena.

Ostigard has become a real fan favourite after joining on loan earlier this season from Brighton, and he's popped up in some key moments to help drag Cov to safety.

The Norwegian has scored in two recent games against Bristol City and Rotherham which have been pivotal to the club moving away from danger but he's also very solid at the back, and Mark Robins is keen on working with him again next season.

Whether that happens remains to be seen - Brighton may want Ostigard to go and experience football at another club, but returning to the Sky Blues wouldn't be a bad thing as apart from injury and suspension he would surely play every single league game.

The defence is an area that Robins could strengthen further though - Kyle McFadzean's deal is expiring and despite having 36 Championship outings this season, he's now 34 years old and Michael Rose doesn't seem to be fancied as a regular starter by Robins.

So the left-sided centre-back role could go to a new incoming, and if Robins wants to add some more experience then a return to the Midlands for former Aston Villa defender Nathan Baker wouldn't be the worst move in the world.

Baker has had a really tough season at Bristol City - he played 34 times last season but he's been hampered with injuries throughout this campaign and made just his first appearance in nearly a year this past weekend.

But if he can prove he's fully fit then the 30-year-old is surely worth a punt as on his day he is a top Championship defender.

Speaking of players who haven't had the best luck with injuries, Dabo has been restricted to 26 Championship games this season after several little spells on the sidelines.

Coventry are definitely a better team when he's in the line-up though, and the former Chelsea man has impressed when he's been on the pitch.

Dabo is tied down to the club for another few years and perhaps they'll be braced for offers for him this summer due to his talents, but the right-wing-back role is his for keeps you'd imagine, although the club do have decent back-up in Julien Da Costa.

Cov fans will finally get to see Gustavo Hamer in action next season after he joined in the summer of 2020, and he's the kind of player who will rouse the supporters with his passion and energy.

The Sky Blues paid over £1 million to bring the midfielder in from PEC Zwolle in Holland and fans who have been watching from afar will think he's been worth every penny.

The 23-year-old has scored five Championship goals, made many tackles and surprisingly has only been sent off once, but his impact has been that good that Scottish champions Rangers were reportedly considering a January swoop.

Hamer remains a Sky Blue though but for how long? His performances will no doubt be attracting attention from bigger clubs.

He has one year left on his contract with Leicester City, but James does not have a future at the King Power Stadium and some kind of settlement could be made with the club which would allow him to join Coventry permanently.

James has put injury and fitness issues from the last few years aside to become an ever-present under Robins this season since his arrival in January, playing all 21 games he's been available for and has even skippered the side on occasion.

Now that James has proven his injury struggles are all a distant memory, he's definitely worth a multi-year contract in the Championship and with the faith Robins has put into him, it would be no shock to see him playing at the Ricoh Arena next season.

Sam McCallum currently occupies the left-wing-back role, having remained on loan from Norwich City since they bought him from the Sky Blues permanently in January 2020, but it may be time to get a permanent player for this position.

And a player who just so happens to be Matty James' brother may be perfect for this role and it's Reece James.

The 27-year-old has been at Doncaster Rovers in League One since 2019 but he's had a breakout year in terms of goalscoring, netting seven times but most of those goals have come from an advanced role on the left wing or in the centre of the park.

James is naturally a left-back though and he can combine both his defensive and attacking abilities in this position - he's out of contract at the end of this season and he would relish the step up a division.

No change needed here - O'Hare perhaps would have liked to add more goals to his collection this season but he's worth persevering with at his age.

Cov were able to take the 22-year-old from Aston Villa permanently after his initial loan spell and he's made the number 10 role his own this season.

O'Hare has supplied seven goals for his team-mates this season and he's still got a lot of developing and learning to do - so think of how good he may be next season.

Robins could bring someone in as competition to O'Hare but it's doubtful that anyone will be displacing him.

Coventry have both Matty Godden and Walker contracted next season, but it's Walker that will get the nod here and Godden will be initially left on the substitutes bench.

Godden hasn't completed a 90 minutes since December and that's why Walker is opted for, with the former Nottingham Forest man still on the upward curve in terms of development.

Both strikers have scored six goals each this season but at the age of 24, Walker has time on his side and he's worth sticking with next season to see if he can get into double figures as he's definitely perfectly capable of doing so.

And Walker's strike partner will be a player who is currently at Coventry but is due to go back to Brighton in pre-season unless a new loan can be worked out.

Gyokeres failed to fire for Swansea City in the first half of the season and whilst he's not had many starts under Robins, he's still occasionally made an impact and has scored three goals for the Sky Blues.

If the 22-year-old Swede was to get a full season under his belt, we may just see him develop into a top Championship striker and fans would probably be delighted to see him given more of a chance in the starting line-up.