Why Coventry City and Mark Robins can count themselves very unlucky: View | OneFootball

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Many followers of the Championship would have expected more from Coventry City at this point in the season, as Mark Robins' side have endured an inconsistent start to the campaign.

Given the Sky Blues' form towards the back end of the previous season, their current position of 20th is way below par for a squad which saw a fair chunk of the duo of Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer's combined £35m fees reinvested in quality such as Ellis Simms and Haji Wright.

Why are Coventry City not quite clicking at present?

It has been seen on many occasions that the side defeated in the previous play-off final can suffer the so-called 'hangover', such as Huddersfield Town, who were embroiled in a relegation battle throughout last season after their Wembley defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Whilst the Sky Blues do only sit five points above Rotherham United in 22nd at present, and with just one win from their last six games, Robins and his players can count themselves slightly unfortunate to have not accumulated a few more points, as it's not for the want of trying.

So far this season, they have been the biggest underperformers in terms of xG, having scored 16 goals in as many games, whereas the underlying data suggests they should have at least found the net 23.6 times on average. This could've given their league-high of seven draws a whole different complexion, having found themselves that many goals behind on their expected stats.

The side have also created 81 chances across the last five games, but only found the net twice, ironically in a 3-2 away defeat to Preston North End, as well as accumulating 753 progressive passes this season. This highlights that the creativity in the side has remained, but clinical finishing is lacking, which is proven by top scorer Matty Godden only having a tally of five to his name.

Will Mark Robins be given ample time to turn the tide?

Those aforementioned stats suggest that when the tide turns in Coventry's favour, they should at least move towards a position in the table which echoes the capabilities of the current squad, which is definitely to be fighting for a play-off place.

The long-serving boss has continued to make the same encouraging remarks throughout the season, and Robins' viewpoint was no different after last Saturday's goalless draw.

"I'm sure we're going to beat somebody really heavily soon. We're certainly creating enough. We've missed good chances so I'm a bit frustrated about that." he told the BBC.

Given Robins' achievements at the club, added to the fact he also signed a fresh long-term contract in the off-season, Doug King should allow the former Manchester United midfielder enough time to turn the club's fortunes around, and with those figures it should happen very soon.

However, if results were to continue in such a fashion and frustration continued to grow, then perhaps question marks will begin to be raised.

Who do Coventry City face next?

Coventry's next encounter is an intriguing clash with Joe Edwards' Millwall, as the former Chelsea Youth Team coach takes charge of his first game at the Den, after the Lions' impressive 4-0 victory against Sheffield Wednesday.