Coventry City Defender Bobby Thomas on Turning Season Around

Coventry City defender Bobby Thomas believes a narrow defeat at Manchester City can be the spark that ignites their Premier League season.

Frank Lampard’s side left the Etihad Stadium empty-handed after a 1-0 loss on Saturday, but delivered their most convincing display since promotion, following earlier defeats at Arsenal and at home to Hull City.

This time, Thomas felt something shift.

“We approached the game differently and had a better gameplan,” he told BBC CWR. “We executed it really well and were unfortunate not to come away with a point.”

Coventry tweaked their shape and mindset against the champions, and Thomas said the players felt the benefits on the pitch.

“You can see the formation change yourselves and we were more diligent in the roles everyone took on during the game. We approached it a lot better,” he explained.

The table still makes grim reading: three games, zero points. Thomas didn’t try to dress that up, but he insisted this performance can be the base for a response.

“Three games, zero points is not great but this was a great starting point. We can kick on and start getting some points from now,” he said.

Coventry’s start has been unforgiving, with trips to Arsenal and Manchester City already ticked off. Thomas wants the squad to embrace that level rather than shrink from it.

“We’ve had Arsenal and Manchester City away, which has been a challenge, but we have to relish it and really take on these teams.

“We can’t come to any places and be timid and not give 100%. We have to be all-in on everything we are doing.

“We need to get after it and start getting some points now.”

The statement is clear. Performances like the one at Manchester City cannot remain hard-luck stories for long.