sport news After years in the wilderness followed by play-off heartbreak Coventry are ... trends now
Victory in an FA Cup classic and a trip to Wembley would be more than enough for most clubs but Coventry City have their eyes on an even bigger prize.
The Championship club will face Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals next month after their remarkable win over Wolves courtesy of stoppage-time goals from Ellis Simms and Haji Wright.
It is the first time they have reached Wembley in this competition since they lifted the trophy in 1987, but the more significant year for Coventry is 2001. That was when they were relegated from the top flight and they have not been back since.
With an ambitious and hands-on owner in Doug King and an excellent manager in Mark Robins, they believe they are on track to change that.
Coventry’s existence has been in doubt more than once in the last two decades. They have had to play home games at Northampton and Birmingham and were in League Two five years ago. Now they feel as though they have emerged from this period of darkness and the Premier League seems tantalisingly close.
Haji Wright's stoppage-time winner against Wolves fired Coventry into the FA Cup semi-finals
They are four points adrift of a play-off spot with a game in hand and are desperate for another crack at the elite level. Because this is a big club.
Even though they compete for supporters with Leicester, Aston Villa and Birmingham, Coventry’s average attendance is close to 25,000 at the CBS Arena. Memories of that 3-2 win over Tottenham at Wembley in 1987 are everywhere you turn. The snag is that they do not own their own ground but changing that is among King’s top priorities.
King revealed: ‘I said to the manager, “The FA Cup is what we’ve done. It’s our biggest ever success. I fancy this. Let’s go and have a run”.
‘The draw has been quite kind to us but you’ve still got to win them. Wolves was our biggest challenge and we succeeded. What happened will stay with us for a very long time.
‘You have got to knock on the door a few times before you get in. I’ve been consistent in that.
‘Here we are in eighth in the Championship and are trying to get in again.
