Coventry City are in the middle of another hectic fixture schedule and looking for a bounce-back result against Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday night after back-to-back defeats to Leeds United and Ipswich Town in the League and FA Cup.

The Sky Blues had started to build momentum with four straight Championship wins going into last midweek when promotion favourites Leeds showed they were a cut above Frank Lampard’s men this season, having comprehensively beaten City 3-0 at Elland Road in September.

Lampard believes there are plenty of positives to take from Saturday’s 4-1 cup defeat and is determined his side get back on track and continue their push towards the play-offs when they take on a QPR side level on points and just a place below by virtue of an inferior goal difference.

Here we take a look at what’s going on in and around the club in Sky Blues reporter Andy Turner’s latest ‘notebook’ diary round-up.

READ MORE: QPR suffer big injury setback as manager 'sad' for luckless former Coventry City loan man

READ MORE: Lampard identifies Coventry City's 'positive bounce' ahead of QPR test

Sad news

Former Coventry City forward John Tudor has died, aged 78. The one-time prolific goal scorer succumbed to dementia in a care home in America where he had lived since his retirement from playing.

Tudor began his football career playing for his local team Ilkeston Town before turning professional with Coventry, going on to score eight goals in 17 matches in 1966–67 to helping the Sky Blues win the Second Division title and promotion to the top flight under Jimmy Hill. He was not as prolific in the First Division and after scoring just seven more goals he left for Sheffield United. Overall he made 77 appearances and scored 15 goals for Coventry.

However, he rediscovered his goalscoring form at Bramall Lane, scoring 33 goals in 78 appearances which helped the Blades on their way to promotion in 1970–71.

Tudor then signed for Newcastle United in January 1971 and he developed a prolific partnership with Malcolm Macdonald. He scored a career best of 24 in 1972–73 helping the Toon win the Anglo-Italian Cup, and two Texaco Cups in the mid 1970s.

He went on to play for Stoke City and had a spell in Belgium with Gent but he made more appearances for the Magpies than any other club – 222 games reaping 74 goals. He was strong in the air and deceptively deft on the floor with a relentless work rate making him a favourite among the fans.

A member of Coventry City ’s former players association, John flew over from his home in the States to see the Sky Blues lift the Checkatrade Trophy at Wembley in 2017.

Flecky taken ill

Best wishes for a speedy recover go to former Coventry City player of the year John Fleck who was taken to hospital last Thursday night after collapsing on the pitch just minutes before kick-off in a League Two match.

The former Sky Blues favourite currently players for Chesterfield along with another former City star, Kyle McFadzean, and their match with Doncaster Rovers was delayed for 10 minutes as the Scottish midfielder received treatment before being taken off on a stretcher and then on to hospital.

Chesterfield FC wrote on their social media platform X: We can confirm that John Fleck has been taken to hospital as a precautionary measure after being taken ill during the pre-match warm-up.

After the game, assistant manager Danny Webb suggested that Fleck suffered a ‘fit’ but reassured fans by saying the 33-year-old was in good spirits as he was taken off the field.

“He had a fit of some sort,” Webb told the Derbyshire Times. “The last we saw of him he was on a stretcher leaving, conscious, speaking and with a smile on his face. We will know more tomorrow. He is in good hands. Fingers crossed he seems to be okay.

“There was a period with John on the floor in the warm-up and football goes out of your mind. Our dressing room was a very quiet place before kick-off. Us as staff tried to lift the boys and let them know that John seemed to be okay when he left. They were flat because he is a team-mate and they care about him. They went out there and got the three points for John.”

Rudi wants City ‘tidy up’

Jack Rudoni admits that despite Coventry City coming up against Premier League opposition and a Championship team heading for promotion, they need to “tidy up” at the back when they get back to league action against QPR on Tuesday night.

The Sky Blues were well beaten by Leeds United last midweek and then suffered a 4-1 defeat as they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Ipswich Town at the weekend.

“They are a good pressing team, and we need to tidy up,” said the midfielder, reflecting on the cup tie in which City gave the Tractor Boys a helping hand for their goals due to a number of errors.

“It has been two tough games, against two good opponents, so we need to get ourselves back in, regroup, and stay positive. When you come up against good sides it is going to be a tough game, and we need to put these two behind us and focus on QPR on Tuesday.

“We need to go into that at home, against QPR, in the league and go and get our win back.”

And the 23-year-old insists confidence in the camp has not been affected by the back-to-back defeats, saying: “They have not knocked us back at all. We are all very positive and we know the capabilities of the squad. Maybe we think we could have done better in these games because we believe we have the quality in our squad to beat these teams we are playing.

“At the end of the day, we have to focus on the league and back to it on Tuesday. We need to put these two defeats behind us and go into QPR. They have been on a good run recently in the league and I am sure it will be a good game, so let’s go into it strong at home and get the three points.”

Fourth kit seal of approval

City’s one-off fourth kit seems to have gone down pretty well with the fans, many of whom either queued up in person or online to buy the all-navy blue shirt when it was put on sale on Saturday morning.

Worn for the one and only time against Ipswich in Saturday’s FA Cup fourth round tie at the CBS Arena, the shirt has been produced to raise funds for two charities, with a donation from every sale going to Zoe’s Place baby hospice and Sky Blues in the Community.

The strip was also popular with the players, with Jack Rudoni commenting: “I like it, as long as I can take some of it home.

“The kit was unreal to be fair, even the warm up tops. The boys said it was really nice.”

How do you think the Sky Blues will do against QPR? Click HERE to have your say.