Mark Robins opens up on Coventry return, Frank Lampard makeover and Stoke City hope
Stoke City manager Mark Robins is making his first return to Coventry since being sacked in November
Notwithstanding all the numerous distinctions between the two teams and their situations, Mark Robins has identified the primary trait he feels he must imitate at Stoke City from his time at Coventry.
Eight years ago this week, Robins was named manager of Coventry. He went on to lead the team from League Two to within a penalty shootout of promotion to the Premier League and to the FA Cup semi-final the previous season.
Bosun Lawal and Ryan Mmaee, who haven’t played much this season, may also require patience during a time when the league standings is tight. In contrast, Wouter Burger has
missed the previous three games, but hoped to return to the fold on Saturday at 12.30 p.m. at Coventry.
“It’s starting to look a bit better,” Robins stated, “but as I’ve mentioned, when players return, they’re fit but not game ready, and you have to be able to get them through games at this point in the season because games tend to run out, don’t they? There are eleven games remaining, and some of the players in our group have been out for three, four, or more months.
“How you handle that situation is what matters. Over a week or two, you might think it will become more apparent, but that isn’t always the case. Other factors, such as fatigue, the accumulation of that fatigue, their muscle soreness, and other things, are involved. Since you cannot kill them to begin with, you must work with them to the best of your ability because it takes time to build them up to a level, and we don’t have much time before the next game comes out. For me and the coaching staff, those are the difficulties.
Having missed a significant portion of the previous season due to a thigh issue, Mmaee hurt his thigh during his first training session after moving on loan to Rapid Vienna at the end of the summer transfer window. Rapid ordered him back to Stoke without allowing him to play after he suffered a setback and then a hamstring injury.
Even if the striker is now practicing harder, it’s still unclear if he will be able to contribute within the next two months.
He’s on the grass and participating, and he’s working his way towards fitness,” Robins stated. He will be among those who begin to increase his level of fitness over a period of time that really needs to be decided. I’m not sure how someone who hasn’t played much since the previous season can get fit enough to play in such a short amount of time; it will then depend on how he looks and how hard he can work to get back to normal.
They need to understand that the harder you work, the more you can handle, and the faster you can recover. It’s crucial to understand your own body as well. I believe that players nowadays like to be informed that their recovery will take three, six, five, or any other number of weeks, but the reality is that your body can heal itself.You can put yourself in a much better position if you put a lot of effort into your recovery and rehabilitation. “Those are things where it can be frustrating from time to time because some tolerate it more than others – but that’s generalizing rather than talking about individuals. It’s just the way it is.”
