A Coventry City mainstay is attracting “plenty” of transfer window interest as the matchday mix returns.
Despite “quite a lot of interest” in leaving Coventry City during the January transfer window, midfielder Liam Kelly decided to stay with the team, and Mark Robins has backed Kelly to earn his way back into the starting lineup.
The 33-year-old club captain of the Sky Blues has been informed by his manager that he will “get an opportunity” in the 17 games left in the season. He will return to the matchday squad on Saturday when City plays Norwich at Carrow Road in the Championship at 3 p.m.
Kelly last participated in a game in early October before being forced off due to injury against Blackburn. This season, he has only made eight league appearances. Since regaining his fitness, he has been on the bench but has frequently been left off of matchday squads.
When asked if the player had options to move during the mid-term window and if Ben Sheaf’s hamstring injury meant that he was being kept on as a backup, Robins responded, “To be honest, there was quite a bit of interest in Kels, and he was quite happy to stay.” He didn’t have to move right away.
He consistently supports himself. He’s healthy and available, so it’s obvious that he’ll get a chance soon and will sit this one out. And eventually he’ll join the team, and once he does, we already know what kind of person Kels is. He’s definitely a good guy to have around, so he’ll be waiting for that and seizing the chance when it presents itself.
When he was in a similar situation last year, with little playing time, some fans wrote him off, but he went on to play a crucial part in the play-off push, even leading the Sky Blues to victory at Wembley in the final. When asked if Robins thought he would have an impact once more, he replied, “Absolutely.” He’s not been on the team, so there’s no doubt that he will be hurting. However, he just lowers his head and you don’t really notice him until he makes a pass, scores a goal in practice, or gets tackled.
PREVIEW: Coventry City’s Sky Bet Championship matchup against Norwich
On Saturday afternoon, the Sky Blues travel to Carrow Road to play Norwich City in the Sky Bet Championship at 3 p.m.
Introducing the Canaries
When Norwich City hosts the Sky Blues at Carrow Road on Saturday, they will be looking to recover from back-to-back losses to Leeds United and Liverpool.
They were in strong shape going into their trip to Leeds after an amazing run of five straight wins, but their momentum was insufficient to prevent them from losing to the best team in the division.
David Wagner will be happy to see Norwich play in their home stadium again, though, as they haven’t dropped a league game in Norfolk since early November.
This season, Gabriel Sara has been their most notable player, with Jonathan Rowe (12) scoring twice as many goals as any of his teammates.
The final six Sky Blues:
Coventry City: 2–1. City of Bristol
Sheffield on Wednesday, 1-1 Blue Sky
Sheffield on Wednesday, 1–2. Blue Sky
Sky Blues 2-1 Leicester City
Sky Blues 6-1 United Oxford
Middlesbrough 1–3. Blue Sky
The final six for Norwich City:
Liverpool 5, Norwich, New Hampshire
Leeds United defeats Norwich, New Hampshire
Norwich City defeated Brighton, West Bromwich
Bristol Rovers 1–3 Norwich, New Hampshire
Hull City 1-1 Norwich, New Hampshire
Bristol Rovers 1-1 Norwich City
Previous head-to-head:
The Sky Blues have won 54, drawn 36.
Norwich City triumphs 37
This weekend, Gavin Ward is going to be the man in the middle. This season will mark Ward’s first time in charge of a City game; his last appearance occurred during the Sky Blues’ 1-0 loss to West Bromwich Albion in 2023.
Lee Venamore and Adam Crysell will support Ward, with Greg Rollason serving as the fourth official.
Colors:
When the Sky Blues travel to Norwich, they will be dressed in their away uniform of Red and Navy, while the hosts will be dressed in their traditional yellow.
Details about the tickets:
There are no more fixtures available.
