COVENTRY City manager Chris Coleman has set his players a target of at least 13 points from their final nine games of the season.
The Sky Blues boss is still aiming for a top half finish and does not want a repeat of last season which saw them stay up on the last day of the season. Coventry currently lie 15th in the table with 47 points, six points above the dropzone, but Coleman believes his side can finish the season on a high.
He said: “We got 52 points last year and scraped through, so we need to get 60 plus, which is possible.
“We are capable of doing that but we mustn’t get sucked in at the other end either. If we can finish top half, with an FA Cup quarter final as well, that’s a successful season for us and a real good step from where we were.”
Coventry are looking to get the first of those points with a win over Doncaster Rovers on Saturday at the Ricoh Arena in a game where the players will want to make up for a 1-0 defeat in the return fixture at the Keepmoat Stadium.
“At their place we defended too deep and gave them too much space and it was one of, if not the worst, performance of this season,” said Coleman.
“And Saturday’s game is going to be one of the most difficult games for us as we will have a half empty Ricoh Arena whereas we’ve been used to playing against Wolves, Birmingham, Blackburn, Chelsea, in front of packed houses and big atmospheres and now we are going to come crashing back down to earth.
“That is no disrespect to Doncaster who are a good team but we have to overcome them and how we do it is irrelevant. We have to stop the run of three defeats in the league and if we get back-to-back wins you can stop looking over your shoulder and see how high you can finish.”
The Sky Blues will still be without James McPake, who is off to Germany for surgery on his injured groin, as well as fellow defender Daniel Fox.
But the front line should be boosted by the return of Leon Best who has overcome a rib injury and should feature in the squad on Saturday.
However Coleman must also concentrate of problems off the field after he was charged by the FA for comments made about referee Steve Bennett following the 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in the quarter final of the FA Cup.
Coleman was disappointed by Bennett’s decision to wave on two injured Chelsea players just seconds before they scored their second goal and also claimed that Bennett was “very friendly” towards the Premier League side and “smug” to his players. He has asked for a personal hearing with the FA.
He said: “Maybe after one or two of my comments after the game I expected them to want to talk to me, but I want to talk to them as well.
“We are never going to change if we don’t speak up; yes sometimes we say too much as managers but if we don’t speak up and address it how are referees meant to get better? They won’t get better by us protecting or shielding them all the time and I will gladly go and speak with the FA and flag up what I think is right and what’s wrong.”
