There has been much debate in recent days, over the extent to which Tony Mowbray's loan signings are the dominant factor to the Sky Blues' success through the early part of the season.

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Following back-to-back home league wins, Mowbray's side came unstuck against League Two side Northampton Town in the FA Cup, a game in which some of the loan signings were not available for.

There is no denying the significance of the lethal Adam Armstrong, League One's top goal scorer with 12 goals so far.

Add to that the influence of Joe Cole, Ryan Kent and Jacob Murphy and Mowbray's dynamic attacking force is a danger for any League One defence - but all bar Murphy could have left the Ricoh Arena by January.

In my opinion this is not too concerning. Losing Armstrong would be a massive blow to Coventry's promotion chances but in Mowbray they have a man who has the knowledge and the links within the game to find an adequate replacement, should McClaren decide he is needed back in the North East.

The same applies to the others, and I have no doubt that Mowbray and his staff will have prepared for this possibility ,and plans will be in place to ensure that Coventry can still have promotion back to the Championship in their sights, well into the the new year.

It's also important to acknowledge the players lost due to injury over the early course of the season.

Losing the likes of Reda Johnson and James Maddison to long term injuries means that a proportion of the spine of the team is missing, and loans have had to be used to bridge that gap, which wouldn't have been the plan during the off season.

In my opinion, Coventry are in good hands. With an experienced manager at the helm, and players such as Jim O'Brien, John Fleck and Romain Vincelot also hugely influential, it's too simplistic to say that Coventry are only in the position where they are due to a few short term loans.

Replacing Armstrong would be very difficult, but there is enough quality throughout the rest of the team to ensure that the Sky Blues could still go on to have a memorable season, even if their talisman does not see out the season at the Ricoh Arena.

Coventry fans...What do you think? Did Saturday's defeat highlight a concerning lack of depth? Can your team get promoted this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!