- 2 years ago
Coventry City boss Mark Robins reacts to Coventry's incredible performance, going toe-to-toe with Manchester United and bringing it back from being 3-0 down. Robins also commented on the disallowed goal being offside by a toe nail.
Wembley, London, UK
Wembley, London, UK
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Hi Mark, you must feel very proud of your team and your players and very disappointed
00:07with that VAR call?
00:09Yeah, but if it's the right call, it's the right call. Go back to the start of the game,
00:16when we were looking at United, they've got some blistering on a counter-attack so you've
00:22got to be careful how soon you open up and if you open up too soon they can then destroy
00:29your confidence for the rest of the game so we had to be careful a little bit, trying
00:37to block spaces and trying to make them have to work really hard to create anything and
00:42I thought we'd done that to a degree but really didn't participate in the game as an attacking
00:46force for the first half really. You know you've got to stay in the game and then you
00:52can make changes afterwards but first goal, you can concede a goal, they've started to
00:59move it, McTominay playing obviously, he's not trained all week apparently, he's trained
01:04Friday and then Saturday and then he's played today but you know he gives them something
01:09different because he runs through the game, Bruno Fernandes tries to control the game,
01:13Mane who's a young kid who's come in that looks like a real talent. So you've got Hoyland
01:21up front who's a physical specimen but runs and presses. You've got a load of different,
01:27you're talking about upwards of £60m, £70m, £80m each of them. Rashford off that left
01:36hand side who's got blistering pace so if you open up and give him any space then you
01:40know, so we've got to be in positions to try and block off before we can start to build
01:45so when we got the ball back we gave it away too quickly so we couldn't build anything.
01:51The ball gets played up to the strikers and it was getting turned over too quick and then
01:54they were penning us in so you concede the first one and then obviously get to half-time
01:58you know 1-0, not too much of a disaster but to concede the second one like we did was
02:04really poor and that's just people switching off and not doing the jobs but you know I
02:12think we were sort of coming to terms with the game at that point, second half made a
02:18change in terms of the set-up but we were starting to come to terms with that change
02:24and how it was going to impact or how we were going to try and impact the game in a positive
02:30way and then we conceded the third goal and then just as we're trying to get ready to
02:35make changes again to give us some attacking threat so 3-0 down and then we start to play
02:43a little bit which is you know you look at it and it's easier to play when you're 3-0
02:48down, that's what my managers used to say to me and we ended up getting a really good
02:54goal actually, Fabio Tavares puts the ball in and Ellis just sweeps it into the net and
02:59that sort of looked like it could be a consolation but you know it was a really good goal, well
03:03worked but the second one where Callum O'Hare hits it and I think it comes off Wan-Bissaka's
03:09shoulder and loops up into the net and you're a goal away from that then it just gets
03:13everybody's tails up, the supporters are involved and that's what we were after and
03:18we ended up making some, it was much much better, they started to drop away but in certain
03:25areas of that field there they'd started to go, they were lagging so we were trying to
03:31exploit that and we ended up getting the penalty for 3-3 and that's where things started to
03:37get really interesting didn't it and they've hit the bar, we've hit the bar, we've scored
03:41the goal that was given offside for, I think it was a toenail offside, so that was disappointing
03:48but I think psychologically that may have had an impact on that because you're 20 seconds
03:52away from going to an FA Cup final and then 30 seconds later you're in a penalty shootout
03:58and it sort of can put you on the back foot a little bit but there's no, seriously no
04:03criticism with anybody who shows the courage to pick up the ball and have a go from a penalty
04:10in that cauldron really so it was what it was, is what it is, we've got to move on and
04:18I just think I'm really proud of everybody, players, staff, supporters were absolutely
04:22outstanding, this FA Cup run will be spoken about certainly in Coventry City circles for
04:28a long long time so whilst I'm disappointed for everybody we can't be too down about it,
04:36we've shown we've gone toe-to-toe with a Manchester United sign, when we're 3-0 down
04:41and come back to 3-3 and almost won it with a fourth and lose it on a penalty shootout
04:47which can happen as we know.
04:54You've just analysed the game, what emotions do you go through especially in the cauldron
05:01of a last minute penalty and a goal at the end and the penalties, as a manager what are
05:08the emotions that you go through?
05:10Various, various but I think really pride, I'm proud of everything that they've done,
05:18I think they've been fantastic, the players, again the support was brilliant, I think really
05:25when they're, if we're 3-0 down, if it was the other way around and we'd gone 3-0 down
05:30I don't think that would have been the same, but the support were absolutely fantastic,
05:34brilliant, great atmosphere, the emotions, you go through a whole range of emotions that's
05:40for sure but I've got to say I'm really proud of what they've done.
05:48Mark, you had the same thing with the penalties if I'm not mistaken against Luton last year
05:52where they kicked towards their fans and they kicked first, statistically the side kicking
05:57first seems to win many more, do you think it's too skewed in favour of one side that
06:02in a big game like this?
06:04What do you suggest?
06:05That you toss one coin and the team says okay we'll kick first and then the losing team
06:12kicks towards their fans?
06:14It is what it is, you've got to deal with it, I mean yeah it could be but you've got
06:18to deal with it, it's really difficult, had he cut his toenail we wouldn't have been talking
06:24about penalties.
06:45Yeah I think any given day that we can perform like that, because we perform like Manchester
06:52United for that last hour and that's what I'm proud of, I'm proud of that.
07:00I think the quality that we showed, the way that we moved the ball, the way that we showed
07:07courage getting on the ball and playing through them, playing round them, getting good quality
07:11in the box, having chances, great execution, I mean Topi's shot that Onur had to save,
07:17if that had gone in that would have been special.
07:24I'm just proud of the way that they took to the game but if you can do that from the start
07:31then, and I think there's a bit of the unknown because you don't know, you don't play against
07:37that opposition every week, it just gives you a little bit of time to grow into the
07:43game but by that stage it's really difficult, especially if you go goals down to come back.
07:49So really all the more impressive for that.
07:54So they were really good for the last hour, I'm really proud of it because that's more
07:59like us, that was more of a swashbuckling performance really and I said that's how Manchester
08:06United usually play.
08:08Pep Guardiola said yesterday he had to put his players on ice after his match and was
08:14complaining about the scheduling, Coventry have actually played more games and now you've
08:18had 120 minutes here as well, what do you need to do to the players after and is the
08:23scheduling actually worse for Coventry City than it is for some of these big boys?
08:27Yeah, nice question, for me the calendar is the calendar, you've just got to get on with
08:34it, we've got a really small squad, we haven't got 150 players to choose from, we haven't.
08:40I think we've got an academy that's got a finite amount of players there, we've brought
08:46Josh Eccles through who played in the first half but came off in the second half and Kai
08:52Andrews is a young player that's just 18 that's been on the bench and he's only had a little
08:56bit of a couple of cameos but we've got a really tight group and Tatsu Sakamoto hurt
09:06his back in I think it was February time and he's been out with that back injury since.
09:13Jamie Allen's only just sat on the bench today, he's trained twice since he fractured a cheekbone
09:17against Sheffield Wednesday in one of the earlier rounds and it affects us, that really
09:25affects us, it hurts us so we've got to try and add that depth, a little bit more depth
09:28and a bit more quality and then we'll be able to cope with things a little bit better.
09:33But when you're talking about that level, you're talking about Pep Guardiola's level
09:38and Eric Ten Hag's level, the way that they play, they've got to play at that level every
09:43week and there's expectation alongside it as well so you can understand from their perspective
09:51why they say what they say because they have to be at that level, they have to win, it's
09:57as simple as that and I think that's the difference although we still have to win but it's the
10:05same but different if you know what I mean. There isn't as much scrutiny in the Championship
10:10although there is and there's so many managers lose their jobs in that atmosphere and environment
10:18and it's really difficult, it's not easy, the job's not easy at any level and certainly
10:23lower down the pyramid you go, it gets more and more difficult, the challenges are different
10:28but you've still got to win football matches and that's why today will hurt, you look back
10:36on it and it will hurt because it was so close, really so close but we've had that before
10:42in the summer, we were so close to being a Premier League team and it just didn't happen
10:46for us so we can't feel sorry for ourselves, we've just got to get on with it and keep
10:50building as you say Andy.
10:51How important is it that the profile of the club keeps rising because you learned a lot
10:56of things in the fashion that you came back from the wars in the previous round and again
11:03today there have been mutuals up and down the country that have been urging Coventry
11:07on and you're really at the forefront of football today aren't you? How important is that?
11:13It's brilliant for the club, it's brilliant because when you're looking to kick on, when
11:17you're looking to recruit, the club's been in the doldrums for so long, we're certainly
11:26out of that period and we've just got to keep moving it forward which is why we won't feel
11:33sorry for ourselves, we won't allow that to happen and we'll just move on and move past
11:38it and try and build into an exciting end to the season for ourselves to then go again
11:45next season because next season again we've got to recruit again, we've got to start to
11:48look at what we can do from this point onwards and have a really good look at that to see
11:54where we can go but again really that's for the future, today is just dealing with what's
12:01just happened and getting ready for Wednesday.
12:09Yeah he was injured, it was his ankle but I don't know, he just wasn't moving right,
12:13he wanted to stay on but he just wasn't moving right so I think he was certainly not right
12:20so we had to try and make that change there because that right hand side was looking really
12:26profitable for us.
12:31They were brilliant, honestly the lads who came in picked up that mantle and really had
12:37a go and I think they showed the disappointment, clearly they'd have been disappointed not
12:41to be starting the game but they've given themselves a real chance for the rest of the
12:47season now and moving forward so honestly I'm really, really pleased with the day's
12:52work from the boys but yeah it's really, really unfortunate but the supporters, like I said
12:58the supporters were a massive part of that and they'll remember that for a long time.
13:07Q. Hi Mark, Sims' goal today takes him to the top of the top scorer leaderboard for
13:20the FA Cup, just a few words on what you think about his development this season and what
13:24he's brought to the team?
13:25Well he took a little bit of time to settle in, again with Ellis there is loads to come,
13:35there's still loads of development in him, he's one of those that we talk about belief
13:43and he's got all the attributes to be a really, really good player. He scored against United,
13:49he scored against Hadji but Calum O'Hare, they've scored against United, they've scored
13:55against Wolves, Ellis previous to this competition he was the only player that we had that scored
14:02a Premier League goal when he was at Everton, he scored against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
14:05and it's just confidence, confidence breeds those performances. It's really good to see
14:13because he had a little bit of a slow start, what happens with a slow start is people start
14:18to doubt and give you stick and really with social media being a cruel place you should
14:24probably opt out and not take part in that. He's been fantastic, he's been brilliant,
14:33he's got his head down, he's worked hard, he's listened and it's funny the harder he
14:39works the better he looks so he's just got to keep working hard because he's got all
14:43those attributes there that will come out.
14:46Hi Mark, can I just ask were you surprised with how Manchester United fell away and then
14:51did you take that into your team talk before extra time because you seem to be the ones
14:57creating the better chances as well in extra time?
15:01You feel the rhythm of the game, the rhythm of the game changed and goals changed games
15:06and the fact that we were able to get back in it because they thought they'd won, 3-0,
15:123-0 up, you can forgive them for thinking that but then things change, you get back
15:18into it with two goals and you're only one away and the mentality change and then they
15:24start to tire. The biggest thing for us was we started to make them work and if you don't
15:30and they allow them the ball and it's easy, when you're in possession of the ball it's
15:33really easy, if you're out of possession of the ball and you've got to run, you've got
15:36to work, that's difficult, psychologically it's different and I thought they worked really
15:43hard in the first half, I thought they worked hard to win the ball back from us, I thought
15:47they worked really hard with their line, they were really high, they pinned us in, when
15:54we won it back you know you've got a little bit more time but we rushed it, we gave the
15:58ball away too quickly which means that you then open a little bit and that hurt us but
16:05I think that what we did better was when we made the changes, we kept it better, we were
16:11able to have it for longer which made them move, which gave us the openings that we needed
16:16to get forward and get into good positions to create and once we'd done that they felt
16:23some quality which was brilliant for us because that's what you need them to feel, any opponent
16:29you've got to make them feel that otherwise they keep coming forward but you've got to
16:33try and put them on their back foot a little bit and it took us a little bit too long to
16:36do that and that's maybe a bit of a regret at the start but you've still got to grow
16:43into it, we just lost 3-0 last week to Birmingham City and we looked a little bit like psychologically
16:51we needed a bit of a boost in terms of that confidence building into the game which is
16:57why we set about the game as we did, knowing you can make those changes if you're a goal
17:02down, if you're two goals down even you're still in there if you can get a goal and obviously
17:08for us even if you're three goals down you've got a chance so yeah honestly I can't say
17:15I'm really proud of them because they've gone toe to toe with United and put them on the
17:19back foot and created a load of chances that meant we scored three goals at Wembley, for
17:25us moving forward and for the players that have taken part today should give them a load
17:29of confidence.