Portsmouth’s arrival at the Ricoh Arena this Saturday, for a League One fixture, provides a timely reminder that Coventry City’s fortunes, although not great, could be a lot, lot worse than they are currently are.
Pompey remain in financial and ownership limbo, have lost a bright young manager in Michael Appleton and continue to scramble around for players on a weekly basis.
Caretaker boss and Fratton Park playing hero Guy Whittingham is looking to make two new signings before the trip to CV6 after Tuesday night’s defeat at home to Leyton Orient made it seven losses in a row.
‘You can understand if confidence isn`t high but there is no excuse for not working hard,’ he said of his side’s first-half display against the O’s.
‘There is no excuse whatsoever for not running around.
‘There wasn`t passion there, it was too easy for the opposition. We weren`t getting close enough to them.’
For the Sky Blues, meanwhile, although the issues that have caused supporter unrest over the past couple of season remain in place they have been buried, for now, under the recent run of positive results and the form of David McGoldrick, League One’s joint-leading goalscorer.
***Friday update***Whittingham is well aware of McGoldrick’s potential, telling Portsmouth’s local ‘paper The News: “He was one of the first players, when I was in my PFA role as a coach educator, that I took on a coaching course, with players like Dexter Blackstock and Nathan Dyer.
“He’s a nice lad, a real handful and he`s getting a few goals.”
On the field it seems Pompey are in much the same situation as the Sky Blues were after Andy Thorn left, rudderless and lacking confidence. No-one showed any sympathy for City’s plight then and the same attitude is needed from the home side on Saturday.
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