My first sports editor, Roger Draper, was a wise and lovely chap. I say first because, a bit like Coventry City managers, I’ve seen a few in my time although, fortunately, not quite so many as have passed through the revolving door at the Ricoh.
Come to think of it, now that particular entry and exit point is no longer in use I suppose the next unfortunate gaffer will slip through the Sixfields Sortie. But more of that later.
Getting back to good old Drapes, the one thing you could do was rely on him. He was the best boss anyone could wish for; passionate, enthusiastic and staunchly loyal to his staff who he would back to the hilt.
He also loved his sport, as you would expect, and took great pleasure from seeing local kids develop and go on to make it at the highest level.
In short, he liked people to do well and took as much enjoyment from seeing Joseph Blogs score the winning goal in the Coventry Telegraph Cup Final as he did seeing Keith Houchen’s spectacular diving header put the Sky Blues back on level terms against Spurs at Wembley.
He would have enjoyed Steven Pressley’s return to the club where he had tried to establish himself as a player in the English game in 19 ill-fated appearances, particularly seeing him breathe life into a hungry, young squad packed full of Cov Kids who defied the odds to race up the table to the brink of the play-offs.
The fact that it is in League One might come as a bit of a shock, but if he was still with us I guarantee he’d like the latest man in the City hot-seat. You see he had a motto in life; it’s always nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice. And, without sucking up too much, I can assure you that our Elvis is a nice man.
Assistant referee Stephen Daly – the man who convinced Tuesday night’s referee to send off Dan Seaborne – may take issue with my character reference after the tongue lashing he received on the touchline, but that’s all heat of the battle stuff and, in my book, doesn’t really count. It shows he cares and, like Drapes, is merely looking after his troops.
Now being Mr Nice Guy doesn’t preclude anyone from criticism but, given the incredibly challenging circumstances in which he’s had to operate this season, most right thinking supporters would have to agree he’s done a remarkable job.
Other words of wisdom Drapes passed on were to never criticise the fans who, after all, are our readers. Sound advice that I’ve adhered to diligently over the last 15 years. Until now.
Having said that, I’m reasonably confident that my intended target is sufficiently small not to incur a backlash that would shake Telegraph Towers to its foundations.
Perhaps someone could help me out here because I’m struggling to compute the rationale of a tiny minority that feel it’s time for a change; who vent their frustration at Pressley’s door after virtually every defeat. My only conclusion is that they are either blinkered as to the bigger picture, don’t know what they are talking about or are on a ridiculous wind-up.
You can’t go from having one of brightest young managers in the country for the first five months of the season to suddenly being stuck with one of the worst.
You get good managers and not so good managers. Occasionally you get bad managers but what you really need is a lucky manager who just happens to be very good at his job.
January saw a huge chunk of Pressley’s luck run out when Callum Wilson got injured and Leon Clarke decided the yams were sweeter in Wolverhampton. Former City favourite Andy Morrell was an excellent young manager for his first two seasons at the sharp end at Wrexham where he guided them to successive play-off campaigns and won the FA Trophy at Wembley. This season it hasn’t worked out and mid-table mediocrity does not live up to the club’s high expectations.
That doesn’t make him a bad manager overnight; it means that he’s perhaps not dropped so lucky in terms of players at his disposal for whatever reason, be that budget, injury or form.
Pressley has just completed 12 months in the job, which is already longer than six of his last 11 predecessors, and the current situation seems a far cry from his unveiling at Ricoh where there was much talk about the joys of playing in such a magnificent stadium. He’s never once complained about the hand dealt to him – going from playing in front of 11,000 in Coventry to less than 2,000 in Northampton, not to mention working with a slashed budget.
He’s tackled crisis after set-back head on and remains determined to bring success on the field; to build on the one shining light we have seen glimpses of in the worst period of the club’s entire history.
City have a track record of showing managers the door but I guarantee this one will be the master of his own destiny, that he’ll see out the job to his satisfaction before picking his moment to progress. The law of the jungle dictates that, just like players, if a manager is successful it’s only a matter of time before he’s approached to step up to bigger and better things.
But he’s only just started his journey with the Sky Blues and, like another tortuous trek back from an away game littered with motorway closures in the wee small hours, that job will continue to throw up challenges and diversions from his chosen path before he gets off at the junction for the high road.
