Mark Robins, the boss of Coventry City, was thrilled to find out his team will play against his former club Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final. In a simple, one-word verdict of the draw, Robins said it was, ‘Perfect!’
Robins started his football career at Old Trafford and even won the FA Cup with them under Sir Alex Ferguson. He’s been a fan ever since.
But after being the manager of Coventry for seven years, he made it clear: “Coventry City are my team, one hundred percent!” When asked if Manchester United was his second favourite team, he laughed and said: “Yes, that would probably be fair.”
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Robins watched United’s exciting win over Liverpool on Sunday. He thought the quarter-final match between Wolves and City on Saturday set the stage for a great weekend of football.
Speaking to Coventry Live, he said: “I watched it and I thought the whole weekend was outstanding, the games were all entertaining and there were lots of goals. I thought ours set the tone and it was just incredible. The feeling everyone was left with is that it’s one of those games that you’ll never forget. It was brilliant.”
He added: “Sunday’s game was an open game and Man United were brave. They had to make changes and put midfield players and forwards at full-back and went for it, and that paid off for them. And Amad Diallo’s goal topped it off for them. In the end United did enough to win it, but I think our game set the tone for all the others.”
When asked which team he’d like to play against at Wembley, including Manchester City and Chelsea, he replied: “I honestly think that the teams that are left are just top, top sides, but my preference was United. At one point it looked like Liverpool were going to go through but then it just turned on its head. Obviously I wanted United to win the game and then we got drawn out first and they followed us out, so perfect!,
“But it would be a great game whichever team you pull out. They have got top players and individuals but it’s a game we can look forward to. It’s a Wembley trip and it’s brilliant for the supporters, the players and the staff and everyone involved, and we can go and have a go at Wembley against a top team with a top manager.”
He added: “They’ll be expected to win, 100 percent, and we want to try and go and give a really good account of ourselves again, and enjoy it. At the end of the day it’s a fantastic achievement just to get to this stage but it’s one of those things where you don’t want to just go and make up the numbers. You want to be part of the game but that is difficult because it’s a different level again, but we’ll obviously do the analysis around that.
“But that’s for the future because we have got games coming up before that, starting with Huddersfield which is the most important game coming up.”
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
