SlowerThanPlatt
Well-Known Member
Coventry City midfielder Romain Vinecelot is happy to play the villain that opposition fans love to hate this season.
The 29-year-old comes with a reputation for being the bad guy as the Sky Blues found to their cost in numerous clashes with former club Leyton Orient over the last two years.
And the tough tackling Frenchman is keen to maintain that hard-man enforcer role at the Ricoh Arena where he hopes to upset as many rival supporters as possible.
“Opposition fans don’t seem to like me but I love it,” said Vincelot, breaking into a smile.
“I love it if the away fans get on me because it pushes me on more and more – and if I win another tackle I just look at the crowd.”
But the summer signing insists there’s more to his game than simply going round kicking and tackling people, including an impressive eye for goal.
“What I can bring and why I think the manager brought me to Coventry is to be able to organise and talk, and also be aggressive so that’s what I have come to do,” he said.
“What I like is getting the ball back and then giving it to a player who can create something. I can play, I can keep the ball and wait to give it to a player like John Fleck or a wide or attacking player so we can really create something, so I know how to pass the ball".
As for goals, for which he is particularly skilled at scoring with his head from open play, he added: “It depends where I am in the midfield, of course.
“When I was at Dagenham I scored 12 goals from midfield – ten headers in fact – and that was because the manager wanted me to get in the box every time the ball went wide.
“Last year I scored four, all headers. One was a set piece but the others came from me driving into the box. The year before when Leyton Orient were more successful my role was more sitting and being organised, getting the ball back and giving it to the forwards because they were on fire and scored a lot of goals between them, 50 or 60, and that’s why I hardly ever went in the box because there was no need to do it. I just stayed in the back seat organising the play.”
Vincelot jumped at the chance of joining City, impressed by the club’s stature and the players he’s played against in recent seasons.
“I know the squad very well from playing Coventry so many times in the last two years so I know there are some very good players,” he said. “And Sam Ricketts has signed and Reda Johnson has re-joined so I didn’t need to come here to see that it’s a good team.
“I played four times against Coventry two years ago and I know they are good, good players and that’s why I came. I liked the way everyone worked hard and in the right spirit.”
And at a time when manager Tony Mowbray is trying to draft in more forward thinking personnel, the midfielder is confident the club will get the the right players.
“Coventry will always attract good players because it is a big club and has a quality manager,” he insisted.
The 29-year-old comes with a reputation for being the bad guy as the Sky Blues found to their cost in numerous clashes with former club Leyton Orient over the last two years.
And the tough tackling Frenchman is keen to maintain that hard-man enforcer role at the Ricoh Arena where he hopes to upset as many rival supporters as possible.
“Opposition fans don’t seem to like me but I love it,” said Vincelot, breaking into a smile.
“I love it if the away fans get on me because it pushes me on more and more – and if I win another tackle I just look at the crowd.”
But the summer signing insists there’s more to his game than simply going round kicking and tackling people, including an impressive eye for goal.
“What I can bring and why I think the manager brought me to Coventry is to be able to organise and talk, and also be aggressive so that’s what I have come to do,” he said.
“What I like is getting the ball back and then giving it to a player who can create something. I can play, I can keep the ball and wait to give it to a player like John Fleck or a wide or attacking player so we can really create something, so I know how to pass the ball".
As for goals, for which he is particularly skilled at scoring with his head from open play, he added: “It depends where I am in the midfield, of course.
“When I was at Dagenham I scored 12 goals from midfield – ten headers in fact – and that was because the manager wanted me to get in the box every time the ball went wide.
“Last year I scored four, all headers. One was a set piece but the others came from me driving into the box. The year before when Leyton Orient were more successful my role was more sitting and being organised, getting the ball back and giving it to the forwards because they were on fire and scored a lot of goals between them, 50 or 60, and that’s why I hardly ever went in the box because there was no need to do it. I just stayed in the back seat organising the play.”
Vincelot jumped at the chance of joining City, impressed by the club’s stature and the players he’s played against in recent seasons.
“I know the squad very well from playing Coventry so many times in the last two years so I know there are some very good players,” he said. “And Sam Ricketts has signed and Reda Johnson has re-joined so I didn’t need to come here to see that it’s a good team.
“I played four times against Coventry two years ago and I know they are good, good players and that’s why I came. I liked the way everyone worked hard and in the right spirit.”
And at a time when manager Tony Mowbray is trying to draft in more forward thinking personnel, the midfielder is confident the club will get the the right players.
“Coventry will always attract good players because it is a big club and has a quality manager,” he insisted.