Coventry City match reaction from CoventryLive as Mark Robins gives his verdict on today’s pre-season friendly with Werder Bremen
Mark Robins has declared Coventry City are “ready” for the new Championship season with a week to go before the big 2024/25 kick-off at Stoke.
The Sky Blues rounded off their pre-season programme with an entertaining 2-1 defeat against German Bundesliga side Werder Bremen at the CBS Arena where Haji Wright made a welcome return from injury.
And there was some good news after the game on captain-elect Ben Sheaf (ankle) and winger Raphael Borges Rodrigues (thigh), City’s two remaining casualties of the warm-up schedule.
“They’re not far away at all now,” said the City manager, when asked for an update on Sheaf and Borges Rodrigues. “I am hoping I will have everyone in and training into the Stoke game but we’re pretty happy that we have come through today without any further injuries.
“Even though not all of them have played 90 minutes, they are all there and ready to go. And to get through that game unscathed is a real bonus, We have played two games back-to-back here and that was really important, especially so that the new players could get acquainted with the place.
“It was enjoyable with a lot of good performances. There is a lot to work with and work on but we are as ready as we can be. We have another five days to work on things and I am really looking forward to the new season. It’s going to be relentless from now on but pre-season has got us ready.
“It’s been a brilliant pre-season overall. I’d have done things a little bit different in not flying out to Darmstadt, although Werder Bremen have done that today. But I think they chartered a flight whereas we got on a red eye flight. But bringing a team over here to showcase Coventry City Football Club was a privilege, so well done to everyone who organised that.”
Reflecting on the game in which City conceded from a fifth minute corner before equalising just before the half hour from a nice finish from Jack Rudoni, only to then get caught out on a counter attack five minutes from the end.
“They gave us a few problems in the first half, particularly the first 15/20 minutes, which I knew they would do,” said Robins, speaking after the 2-1 CBS Arena defeat.
“They are a top team, and you can see that, so they are ramping up their preparations. So there was plenty of problem solving to do but I thought the players were good and ended up getting on top of them. We conceded a poor goal from a corner but if we’re talking about conceding from a corner and defending that space properly, or tracking a deep run for the second goal, if they are the only two things that we are looking at in the game then we are not doing too badly against top opposition.
“I thought we played some really good football at times and created some really good chances. We had a good chance just before they scored with Brandon (Thomas-Asante) with a run from Haji that bounced up straight to Brandon’s head. But the goalkeeper made the save and they went down the other end and broke from there.
“We are still a work-in-progress with players bedding in but this pre-season has been really good and the quality of the opposition has meant we have had to get to levels we probably haven’t reached before in a pre-season.
“The real thing starts next Saturday and we can’t wait, we’re looking forward to it. It was the right sort of game to end the pre-season, just what we wanted and needed. We made some changes at the end, which is something we wouldn’t normally do.
“You’re looking for everyone to be collectively together and they look like they are. But they are going to have to be as well. It was a really good workout with some fantastic bits of play, good movement and good bits of control in the game as well. There are still areas to work on, of course, but to finish off the pre-season like that was absolutely ideal.”
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