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Coventry City owner cites Birmingham City relegation after controversial Mark Robins sacking
Coventry City owner Doug King has pointed to Birmingham City’s relegation as one of the reasons behind his controversial sacking of manager Mark Robins.
The Sky Blues parted ways with the well-respected Robins following last week’s loss to Derby County and a poor start to the campaign which leaves them 17th in the Championship and looking for a new head coach.
King held a forum with Coventry fans on Monday evening at which he also cited the fact Robins ‘dismantled’ the club’s successful coaching structure following a fall out with assistant manager and influential first team coach Adi Viveash in the summer.
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And after a poor start to the season - with the club having failed to find a suitable replacement for the senior coaching role - King feared more poor results and inconsistent form. He even commented on Blues’ situation last term.
CoventryLive reports: “I think the biggest thing that could have got us out of control, and we’ll see how it all turns out, was if we just continued as we were and didn’t change anything and by Christmas got into a real pickle and out of control of the situation,” King told fans at this week’s forum, hosted by BBC CWR at the CBS Arena.
“Honestly, I don’t want to be in that situation where control is taken away from the football club and from me and what we have invested in it. And it can happen quickly.
"We saw that with Birmingham last year and that was a lesson in my eyes, with big owners with big plans. They make a few mistakes which they probably wish they hadn’t and they are now down in League One. They have deep pockets and they are doing what they’re doing. But the issue is, our footballers will not play in League One.”
Knighthead sacked John Eustace with the club on the verge of the play-offs and appointed Wayne Rooney who oversaw just two wins in 15 games before he too was shelved. Tony Mowbray came in to steady the ship before illness ended his tenure, after which his assistant Mark Venus oversaw a downward spiral. In the end Gary Rowett was unable to overcome what had been a challenging sequence of events.
Coventry are now looking for Robins’ replacement with Frank Lampard heavily connected with the position.
