“Russell Martin is going to be a top manager” – Coventry City boss Mark Robins on his opposite number

Mark Robins took his side into last night’s game hoping for the win that could lift his side to third but instead saw them come up against a Swansea side that he admits they could not “get to grips with” and ultimately saw them beaten 2-1 as the Swans continued their recent excellent form.

It has been a good start to the season for the Sky Blues who found themselves playing in amongst the top places in the division to the surprise of many but Swansea are a team moving rapidly in the right direction and secured a fourth win in the last five thanks to early goals from Jamie Paterson and Joel Piroe.

It left Robins at the end of the game regretting the start that his team had but ultimately accepting that they lost to a good team led by someone who he believes is destined for big things in the world of football management.

“I think we are on the end of a result where we were the authors of our own downfall because we didn’t start the game.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s difficult because they are a good team, they want to move you around, they try and do things that we want to do to opposition teams that make you uncomfortable and they made us uncomfortable because we couldn’t get to grips with it and their movements.

“It can be difficult, but we gave them a brilliant head start in the game, the second goal is two yards off, that’s a disappointment the linesman’s got to be up with play but he wasn’t and ended up costing us the second goal, it’s not all together his fault by the way it’s our fault as well.

“But we got ourselves back into the game from a corner, first one of the season I think and then had opportunities, because no matter how good they are they give you opportunities if you get after them and when we did that we looked like getting ourselves back into the game and not only that had we been level at half time I think we would have gone on and won it, I’m sure of it.

“The second half changed we missed two chances obviously, Callum and Matty when the ‘keeper made the save then we gave him it back when he was on the floor, really we need to take those chances and score those chances and we didn’t.

“They then had to make some changes to their shape and they did but they are well coached, I think Russell Martin is going to be a top manager and he’s got some staff as well, so it was always going to be that sort of game, a very tactical game and also a technical game and we just kept giving them the ball back too easily at the start of it.”