CHRIS Coleman wants his Sky Blues side to get their edge back when they travel to Preston North End on Saturday.
Coventry City visit Deepdale on the back of defeats to Sheffield United and Bristol City in the league and the FA Cup loss to Chelsea as they look to get their season back on track in their last ten games of the season.
And Coleman is determined not to see a repeat of last year’s relegation dogfight.
He said: “We’ve got to pick ourselves up and try and get the result and do what we were doing. If we do that we will have a good end to the season, if we don’t we won’t.
“Preston are a good team and they will be looking at us thinking are we still walking around with our chins on our chests because we got knocked out the cup and lost our last two league games.
“The wheels have come off a little bit. I said before the Chelsea game it was either going to be a hindrance or help us march on. Unfortunately it’s been a hindrance in terms of results and it has taken a lot out of us as a club, not just the players.
“We’ve got to get that edge back and you only get that by getting good results and we’ve got ten games still to get those results. There is still more for us this season and finishing top half is a good step for us and anything other than that is a big bonus.”
City go into the game buoyed by the return to fitness of skipper Scott Dann, but are likely to be without fellow defender James McPake who is struggling for fitness.
Striker Leon Best should be fit after hurting his ribs in the 2-0 defeat to Bristol on Tuesday and Coleman is hoping that Aron Gunnarsson will recover from illness in time to make the starting eleven.
He said: “It’s Aron’s first full season, he’s 19 and he’s had a lot of games. He’s come out of the Dutch league which is a much slower pace and much less physical and he’s been thrown in at the deep end.
“He’s burst onto the scene and been great but it can be a lot for a 19-year-old. So physically and mentally he is tired, but if I can get him for Saturday I will play him as I want to play my strongest team.”
As for rumours that Gunnarsson was among the fans for the trip to Bristol, Coleman can understand why he is quickly becoming a fans/fan’s favourite.
“Everybody likes to be loved and the fans love him and appreciate him,” said Coleman.
“He certainly appreciates them. He’s young, full of enthusiasm and has an aura about him. He’s been linked with this club and that club in the Premier League and he’s said he wants to stay here and sign a new contract and that is what will happen.”
The Sky Blues faithful will also be pleased to hear that Keiren Westwood, Scott Dann and Danny Fox, along with Gunnarsson, are all to be offered contract extensions, as is long-serving full-back Marcus Hall who is set to have another year at the Ricoh Arena.
One player who won’t be seen in a Coventry City shirt next season is goalkeeper Andy Marshall. The 33-year-old has been number two to Keiran Westwood for most of the season but Coleman says “he is a luxury we cannot afford”.
He added: “He’s a terrific lad and have loved working with him but we still have Keiren, Dimi and Danny Ireland. He’s done great since I’ve been here and been a great number two to Keiren.
“We wish him all the luck and will do everything we can to make sure he’s sorted out somewhere. He needs to be playing first team football to keep himself fitter and it is news I didn’t want to give him because he is a smashing kid but that’s part of the job.”
