Next Coventry City Manager Odds: Who on earth could replace Mark Robins?

EFL pundit Gab Sutton discusses who can possibly fill the void left by Mark Robins at Coventry City, after his acrimonious sacking by owner Doug King.

Very much in line with common opinion, I think Coventry City owner Doug King made a grave mistake in parting company with Mark Robins this week.

It seems plausible that they might have had different ideas of how they’d ideally want to work on an operational level going forward, in terms of both processes and recruitment policy, but a compromise between the two would have worked better than severing ties.

It feels as though the fanbase is almost in mourning, following the loss of the true club legend, who joins Jimmy Hill and John Sillett as one of the three greatest managers in Coventry’s history – and by far the greatest of the modern era.

So, it’s one thing for King to have a vision for how he wants the club to operate, but that should have been amenable to what’s already effective, as opposed to going in with a one-size-fits-all plan.

Yes, it had been a poor start to the season, with the Sky Blues languishing in 17th, but that was probably the means for the decision rather than the motivation.

Realistically, what Robins needed was one or two better quality coaches, to replace the influential Adi Viveash and Dennis Lawrence – who did a lot of the work on the grass that allowed Robins to oversee things.

Viveash and Lawrence have been replaced by coaches promoted from the academy, who are at different stages of their respective careers, and it was bound to take its toll on a team short of experience and leadership.

So, with the right tweaks, to both the coaching setup and age profile of playing personnel in January, Coventry could have flown up the table once again.

Instead, the decision puts the fanbase in shock, and also puts the person replacing Robins in a very difficult position of being the outsider, the step-father figure, the one who stands where he stood.

Whoever comes in must have incredible people skills and PR nous, because they’ll have to show empathy for the difficulty of the situation, even a hint of vulnerability over their position within it, whilst also showing respect for the owner – the person who pays their wages – as well as showing authority and leadership skills. It’ll be a political minefield, that most coaches aren’t well-equipped to deal with. 

In some ways, you’d rather be the one who replaces the one who replaces Mark Robins, than replace Mark Robins.

The Coventry job will be far more appealing after the next manager, because either that tenure has gone well, or it’s gone badly and forced King to admit that he made a mistake, possibly healing the wounds.

Now, emotions are raw and it’s extremely difficult for the fanbase to think positively about something new, and that’s a very tough situation for a new coach to inherit – because they’ll themselves need time to settle into the job too.

So, bearing in mind that this gig is something of a poisoned chalice, who might be able to wash the chalice thoroughly before drinking from it? 

Well, Matt Bloomfield is 2/1 joint-favourite in the next Coventry City manager odds, but I can’t see him leaving Wycombe, a club where he has legendary status from a 20-year playing career at Adams Park, and has them on the up as manager, with the Chairboys sitting top of the league.

Alan Sheehan is also 2/1: he was a lovely little footballer on his day, even as a defender you could see he was highly technical, and he seems to have taken his playing strengths into a progressive coaching career.

But, Ruben Selles at Reading would be my choice. He’s had situations with the Royals that suggest to me that he’s very good at managing conflict by being very patient with people.

For instance, there was a post-match scene at Leyton Orient last year where the players and staff became the subject of a vent from the away fans, who couldn’t direct their frustrations to an absent owner.

Selles got all the players and staff to stand in front of the fans for about a minute, absorb the wrath, and then go in and start speaking to people. It worked brilliantly, because by that point the fans had got their rage out of their system and were much more amenable to an open conversation.

It’s those sort of qualities that the next Coventry boss will need to have any sort of chance.

The job requires the same mentality that you’d have turning up to a funeral having only met one person there: it might be an opportunity for connection in time, but you go in with an extremely cautious and respectful approach.

Whereas, if they were to appoint somebody more instinctively passionate and intense like Nathan Jones, the fanbase just wouldn’t be in a space to appreciate his leadership style.

So, Selles would be my pick – as well as his suitable management style, he’s also an excellent coach and a fantastic developer of young players, which aligns with the strategy.

Whoever it is though, shouldn’t expect to win hearts and minds straight away.