OPPO VIEW: COV

Ahead of our nail-biter against Coventry City, we spoke to a very optimistic Dean Atkinson from Sky Blues Extra, who was full of praise for Frank Lampard and explained his reaction when it was confirmed that they'd be facing Sunderland over two legs...

Starting with Mark Robins and ending with Frank Lampard, what was the story of your Championship season?

The season began with real optimism among the fans - there was a genuine belief that this could finally be the year we pushed for automatic promotion. But things didn’t start how we hoped. We slipped into our usual early-season slump, and after three months of inconsistent performances and disappointing results, Mark Robins was let go. In hindsight, he probably made too many big changes over the summer, and the team just didn’t click with the new setup.

Frank Lampard’s arrival marked a real turning point. He brought a new energy and clarity to the squad, making us much more solid and harder to beat. Tactically, he moved us away from being a purely counter-attacking side and gave us a bit more control in games. Since Christmas, we’ve been on a fantastic run - at one stage, some fans would’ve taken simply staying up, but we’ve surged up the table and earned a shot at the play-offs. It hasn’t been a vintage finish to the season, but we’ve done enough, and now everything’s to play for!

With Lampard taking the side from 17th to 5th, what exactly has he changed at the club?

Lampard’s impact has been huge and the turnaround from 17th to 5th speaks for itself. One of the biggest changes he made was tightening us up defensively. We became much more organised without the ball which gave us a platform to build from. He also moved us away from relying solely on counter-attacks, which made us less predictable and more adaptable depending on the opposition.

On top of that, his man-management has been key. He’s clearly lifted confidence within the squad and got players believing in his system although they all might not actually be suited towards it. Some individuals have really kicked on under him, the likes of Jack Rudoni and Victor Torp to name two, and there’s been a stronger sense of togetherness across the team as seen in the social posts by the club recently. It’s been a complete reset in many ways - tactically, mentally, and in terms of belief.

Haji Wright is your top scorer on 12 goals, but a third of those have actually come against Sunderland. What do you make of the USA forward?

Very much a copy and paste from my thoughts with you previously! Haji certainly still splits opinions in our fanbase because of how much he blows hot and cold. On some days he shows ability and finishing that could cut it at the top level of football, but on other occasions he can frustrate the daylights out of you by showing absolutely none of that ability. He showed he was a level above the rest in our fixture back in March, but since then has showed very little of that form. We need him firing on all cylinders in what I hope will be the next three games.

Sunderland have been protecting key players and playing with a rotated squad over the past two months, but against Oxford and then QPR we saw the closest thing to a “full strength” XI. Which of our players will you be worried about?

Hard to look past the likes of Chris Rigg and Enzo Le Fee for the ones I am most worried about, although I don’t think either have lived up to expectations so much in the last few months. I also think if Mundle comes back into the Sunderland XI, it could be vital for your chances. I am very surprised by the lack of form from Isidor too who was a real shining light when Sunderland were in terrific form before Christmas.

We haven’t beaten Coventry away from home since 1985 and going into the final day of the season we were all thinking “anyone but Coventry”! Do you think the fact you’re certainly our bogey team will play any part in this fixture?

It’s hard to ignore a record like that but I don’t think this plays too much on the players’ minds; it’s more of a talking point for the fans. At the same time, these kinds of records are made to be broken and, if anything, it could give the players a bit of extra motivation to break this hoodoo - in the play-offs especially.

That said, we will take confidence from the history and from the fact we have had some positive results against you this season and I think psychologically that might give them a slight edge and confidence, rather than what’s happened over the past 40 years!

Were you happy to find out you’d be playing against us over two legs?

Oh, absolutely! Out of the possible options, I do think this gives us the best chance of reaching the final. We’re better equipped as a team to face Sunderland over two legs - tactically and physically, it feels like a good matchup for us.

On top of that, Sunderland are coming into the playoffs in pretty poor form. They’ve really struggled in recent weeks, and I’m not so sure Regis Le Bris is the kind of motivational figure who can easily reset that mindset in such a short space of time. That kind of dip can be hard to shake off and I think it could have a big impact on how they perform across the two legs.

Our record against you in recent seasons has also been really strong so we have to take confidence from that. Of course, it’s a play-off match so anything can happen, but given the choice, this is the tie I’d have taken.

What’s your score prediction for the game? Scorers?

I think we will take some kind of lead to the north-east and I am confident that with our home atmosphere it will be a 2-goal cushion for us to defend. I am going for 3-1 (Rudoni, Wright x2 – Mundle).

Finally, out of the four play-off sides who do you reckon is getting promoted?

I might be biased but I do feel like we have a great chance. I am backing us to do it at the second attempt in three seasons, and to beat Sheffield United in the final.