Back Don't Boo

The Scot whose, court appearances last year, high rate of petty cautions and missed chances have apparently not endeared him to fractions of the home City support has been cheered in away games, especially when he came on at QPR and later grabbed the winner.

"A couple of weeks ago Kyler was being booed about the place and in the space of a couple of games he's a hero," said Harbin to the CT. "While the player says it doesn't get to him, it certainly gets to the rest of the team because we can't believe it.

"We see him every day of the week and we see how hard he works and how much he wants to do well and be a Coventry player, and the team to succeed. "And yet he can run on and make a few errors and get booed off the park and it upsets the rest of us more than him, probably.

"So every man in the squad was delighted that he scored the winning goal the other night and it was pleasing to see that the away fans gave him a good reception. "And I am sure that, as with all of the players, if people get behind them they will perform better and they have to realise that."

"Kyler has had a bit of a traumatic time of late and it can make my job harder. "Fortunately, the individual player doesn't take much notice of it, but it affects the rest of the team to think that the fans are turning on one of our own. "We call it a big family and we want the fans to be part of that family.

"They have to realise that we are not Real Madrid and we are not going to win 5-0 every week and there will be tough times. "And it is through those times that you need the fans behind you, not so much when you are winning.

"We could have 26,000 people booing us when we are winning and that is not going to make any difference, but when we are down and struggling and battling, that's the time when we need their support."


Kevin Kyle warming up. Picture courtesy of AWD

Kevin Kyle said to the CT:  "I could say a lot about the fans, but the away fans, the ones that continue to pay that bit extra to follow the team, continue to be fantastic as they have all season.  "I have not got a problem at all with them - they come to support the team no matter what, and to get the reception I got when I came on, and again on Saturday at Stoke was fantastic. "They believe in me and it was nice to repay them by getting the winner on the night."

"It was quite emotional really because I have known that the only way to shut people up who have been getting on at me is to score goals. "But I was really pleased for my teammates because they worked really hard and I came on and did the easy bit, and it was just nice to get the three points and send the fans back up to Coventry very, very happy."