Coventry owner reveals behind-the-scenes fallout that led to Mark Robins sacking

11/12/2024 08:20 AM

Coventry City owner Doug King has lifted the lid on the behind-the-scenes fallout that led to the sacking of Mark Robins.

Fans were left stunned when Robins was axed as Coventry manager last week after a hugely successful seven-year spell.

The 54-year-old helped propel the Sky Blues from League Two strugglers to the cusp of the Premier League after taking over as boss in 2017.

The club made the change due to their unhappiness at 'the performance of the team over an extended period' despite describing Robins as one of Coventry's 'greatest ever managers'.

Coventry sit 17th in the Championship with 16 points from 15 games, which paints a very different picture to the previous campaign which saw the club in contention for the play-offs.

The departure of Robins' right-hand man this summer, Adi Viveash, after a breakdown in the pair's relationship, has been the catalyst, not just the downturn in form, but also the axing of Robins, according to King.

The Coventry owner met with fans on Monday night in a bid to simmer the tension over Robins' sacking.

Then, on Tuesday morning, King spoke to talkSPORT to explain his reasoning behind the change and how he intends to move the club forward.

"It was an intense hour but it was a good hour for both parties to explain themselves and try to take us forward," King said of Monday night's fans' forum.

"There was a break-up between the hugely successful partnership of Mark and (assistant manager) Adi Viveash.

"We couldn't work out a way to reconstruct that when Adi left the club and that put at risk us developing, performing to the standards that we need to perform to get where we need to go.

"On that note we needed to make a change in my view."

Asked whether the breakdown between Robins and Viveash was an internal matter, King replied: "No. Everyone knows Mark and Adi have been together for a long time. 

"They've driven the club up from the depths of League Two and taken us within a kick of the Premier League and even an FA Cup semi-final.

"Obviously, they've been together a long time and things change over time and it would seem their relationship became more difficult and on that basis we had to make a change at the start of the season.

"We looked to replace Adi and we hadn't really done that in the way that I think we needed to do given the quality of coaching, tactical knowhow we had over those periods of time.

"So we had to make the hugely difficult decision to let Mark go and believe you me it was difficult."

King admits he expected a backlash from fans who had taken Robins to their hearts during his second spell as manager.

The club's previous problems with owners and manager still remain a sore topic of discussion and King sympathises with the supporters who were given a much-needed period of stability under Robins.

"I know the history of Coventry City with its owners," King said. "It's littered with disaster. Here's another owner doing another thing so I understand the situation [with fan concerns].

"I expected the backlash," he added. "Mark has been there seven years and we've only gone in one direction. I've only been here for two years, Mark has been there a lot longer, he's got a proven track record.

"We were trying to find solutions to aid him going forward. Was he surprised by the sacking? I'd say he wasn't totally surprised, no.

Frank Lampard is one of the names linked with the vacant managerial post at the club.

The former Chelsea boss has been out of work since leaving Stamford Bridge in May 2023 but when pressed on his plans to replace Robins, King gave little away.

"This is a big moment for the club," he said. "We've had the same manager for over seven years, we're looking at everything, we want to get this right 

"The fans don't want us to be a revolving door with managers. The fans and I like stability and a long-term manager.

"I need to take my time with the team to get this right and I know we've got this period of two weeks to look at that and move that forward at speed.

"If it takes a little bit longer, it takes a little bit longer but I've done it now so we get something sorted into the month of December, allowing the new person to assess what he's got so that when we come into the [transfer] window we've got a little bit more knowledge, depth and understanding of their views alongside our views as to what's needed to strengthen.

"There's a long way to go, we've got to the play-offs from this position before," King said. "If you leave it too late and you see that the structure is changing, why should I expect a change of trajectory?

"I've changed the trajectory and now it’s on us to appoint, get some stability and allow the new person to drive what I think is a really talented set of players and see what we can do.”