'PRIME EXAMPLE' - BLACKBURN ROVERS BOSS HAILS FORMER CLUB COVENTRY CITY

John Eustace says Coventry City are a “prime example” of how to build a football club. The former Sky Blues skipper still has a lot of affection for the Sky Blues, where he started his playing career under the guidance of Gordon Strachan.

Now making his way in management, the young coach is preparing to face Mark Robins and his injury hit team as Blackburn Rovers go in search a big three points to help secure the Lancashire club’s Championship safety. Rovers are currently in 19th place but just three points above the club that sacked him earlier in the season, Birmingham City, and replaced him with the higher profile Wayne Rooney.

Blues are third from bottom with two games to go. Gary Rowett’s men are at fellow relegation battlers Huddersfield this weekend ahead of a last day encounter with Norwich at St Andrew’s. Rovers face Coventry at home and then Leicester City away on the final day.

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Asked about the Sky Blues, who this season made the semi-final of the FA Cup and appear to have just fallen short of the play-offs, Eustace said: “I think they are a prime example of how to build.

“It’s important that you don’t change things too quickly to be successful. You have to build, you can’t buy. It’ll soon catch up with you. You have to lay foundations and build properly. They have done that fantastically well and still have some players from League Two.

“It’s a good football club that’s been given the opportunity to build and progress but develop young players, sell players and earn money for the club. They have done it the right way.”

The 44-year-old took a watching brief at the CBS Arena in midweek to see City lose 3-2 to Hull.

“I went and watched the game on Wednesday night, they’re a fantastic team with a good squad,” Eustace told the Lancashire Telegraph. “They’ve had a lot of game time of late which we have too recently. It won’t be a game where we expect them not to come and be a top team.

“Coventry have fantastic players and I know they’ll make it very difficult for us. I don’t think they will be leggy, we did it in the Bristol week. They have a lot of good players and they can change the team. They brought on some good players at half-time and rested the right people as well. It will be a very tough game and one we’ll be ready for.”

Reflecting on his career at Highfield Road that went from 1996 to 2003, Eustace said: “I was there for seven years, I played with some fantastic players in the Premier League with them. I worked with some fantastic managers. It’s certainly a club that gave me my first opportunity and I have a lot of friends there.

“They’re a big club, they have built properly, the manager has been there for six, seven years. They have a squad that’s been on that journey with him and they are reaping the rewards. It’s a good football club.”

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2024-04-26T16:09:58Z dg43tfdfdgfd