To mark the third anniversary of the saving and takeover of Coventry City Football Club, the chairman Ray Ranson has spoken to the Coventry Telegraph about his time at the helm and of his hopes for the future.
This season, under the management of Aidy Boothroyd, Coventry City have established themselves as a hard team to beat and are now pushing hard for a top six, if not top two finish to the season.
C.T: What are your thoughts on the season so far?
R.R: "Excellent. I think we are now a very hard team to beat. Rightly or wrongly, teams feel intimidated playing against us. We are a physical side but I don't think we are a dirty side, but we now have four or five lads over 6ft 1, 6ft 2 and long may that perception continue because I know from my playing days that if you go into games with a psychological edge it can be a real help."
"I have heard managers who are coming to play us talk about it being their most physical game of the season because I think the presence of four or five lads like that gives that perception."
C.T: What's the biggest difference from your first two years?
R.R: "I am on record as saying that the squad we inherited was totally imbalanced. We had about 15 left footed players and most of them were under 5ft 8 and just two or three guys over 6ft."
"At this level the Championship is a very competitive league and if you look at our stats from last year I think there was only Peterborough who conceded more goals from set pieces than us and now I think we are the best in the league and that's purely down to Aidy Boothroyd and his attention to detail and work ethic and all that, so I am delighted."
"I obviously did a lot of research on Aidy and looking at the players we had and the players we were looking to bring in and looking at the likes of Gary McSheffrey and Lukas Jutkiewicz who were already on the radar, thankfully when Aidy came in he rated them as well."
"So we looked at what we had got and managed to bring the right people in. Has he surprised me? No. He is a pleasure to work with and he's doing a fantastic job."
C.T: Do you enjoy the busy Christmas programme?
R.R: "I'm not really a big festive season person, probably because I have always been involved in football as a player. I like the games and I am not one for a winter break because by the time you have had a couple of weeks off you need a couple of weeks of training to get back into it so I don't know whether it is of any benefit.
"Until someone can come up with stonewall medical evidence that you benefit from it, then I am not sure about a winter break. Do we play too many games? Yes, but I am not sure a winter break is the answer so, for me, bring it on."
C.T: What are your thoughts on the two main fixtures against Cardiff and QPR?
R.R: "I think the they will give us a bit of a barometer as to how far we have come and what the prospects for the second half of the season look like. I share Aidy's thoughts that we will be better in the second half of the season compared to the first. Everyone is getting used to the manager's methods and his attention to detail."
"If you are a player, all due respect to Chris Coleman but he had a very relaxed style and Aidy is quite intense, and I know which one I would sooner have because Aidy is paying dividends. "So it takes a while to get used to and I think we will have a better second half and we will see where we are after the those two matches because they will be a good indicator."
"It won't be the end of the world if we don't do well but, on the other hand, if we put in some good performances and get some points out of those games then it bodes well for the rest of the season. I certainly think, and I am hoping, that it would send a message to the Coventry faithful that we have got a realistic chance of having a decent season this year."
"Because we have never been in the play-offs since the club was relegated and the last few years we have finished 19th, 17th and 21st, I think people out there maybe think that good old Coventry will blow up. People are not so much expecting us to fall flat on our face but certainly the bubble to burst, so to speak. And I don't think it will."
"We have played enough games and the good players we have got and Aidy's attention to detail and work ethic will not allow that, but yes, I am as intrigued as anyone to see how we get on against the two so, called favourites to get automatic promotion."
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