Coventry City haven't had the best start to the new season which has only been hindered further by off the pitch circumstances too. 

As it stands, they sit bottom of the league having lost four of the eight games they have played so far.

However, a visit from Middlesbrough yesterday saw the Sky Blues pick up their first win of the season with Viktor Gyokeres' goal in the 17th minute the difference between the two sides.

The result still leaves Mark Robins' side at the bottom of the league and four points away from 21st and whilst you'd expect this result to give them confidence, with seven games coming up in the next month the team have a lot of work to do.

However, Robins believes his players are able to take on the challenge ahead of them as he told Coventry Live :"The big thing for me is seeing the reaction of the players to the fixtures that we have to play now. They are not daunted by them, they are desperate to play them and that's the difference.

"We'll get one or two back from injury soon so we're not too far away with Liam Kelly and Callum O'Hare, and we need everyone available, which is add last week when Gustavo [Hamer] was sent off.

"You need everyone available because games are coming thick and fast and had we had Gustavo available today we could have changed things a bit more freely.

"Psychologically, you can't underestimate how difficult it has been for the players, and for everyone, the coaching staff and the club. But they have to get on with things now. The first win is there and they are in great spirits anyway and really excited, so long may it continue.

"But look, it was a hard fought game and it just shows you what frame of mind there were in. They were in an aggressive frame of mind and determined to get something fro the game, and the win was much needed and gives them a real boost. A real confidence boost and we have needed that because it has been so long from the start of the season when we played Sunderland to now, and all that stuff that that has gone on in between and it's just nice to be able to plan.

"There's been frustration of not being able to play at home and get the wins we have deserved. That's fragmented because of the six games away from home out of the first seven. That's got to be unprecedented. It's difficult.

"We weren't great away from home last season and just won the games at home which gave us a really good start. But they are absolutely over the moon with this performance and result, and it will hold them in good stead."

 

 

The Verdict: 

As Mark Robins said, the start to the season has been really tough for Coventry and their players and it's bound to have affected them so to pick up their first win of the season is a massive boost.

Of course, they have a busy period upcoming and they're already behind on games compared to the rest of the league and will have this to catch up on later in the season.

However, it's good to see that the players are looking forward to the upcoming games and the squad seems to be in good shape.

The players will have to work hard to get the results they want to push them up the table over the coming weeks but Robins doesn't have a bad squad and if they can gain some momentum, they could start to turn things round.