Boothroyd: The first 100 days

‘He is considered to be one of the brightest young managers in the English game and we believe he can take us to the next level.

‘We look forward to working with him in the coming weeks, months and years as we bid to get Coventry City back where it belongs.’

Those were the words with which chairman Ray Ranson welcomed Aidy Boothroyd to the Ricoh Arena on Thursday 20 May and the new man in charge celebrates 100 days in charge ahead of this weekend’s game against Millwall with his side having made a solid, unbeaten start to the new season.

Boothroyd’s tenure to date has been defined by the following key decisions.

Signing Gary McSheffrey: Just days into the new manager’s time at the club he gave his go-ahead to City’s move to re-sign Gary McSheffrey from Birmingham.

A win-win transfer if ever there was one, McSheffrey remains a good age and a top player while his signing gave an early indicator of the club’s seriousness in building a strong squad, capable of challenging for promotion.

The Marlon King saga: From the very first moment that Boothroyd arrived at the Ricoh Arena it was assumed that his former striker would be following him as soon he has stepped through the prison gates.

Well aware of the sensibilities surrounding such a signing, the manager played a straight bat to most questions about it but never made any secret of the fact that he would be speaking to King in a personal capacity and offering advice where needed.

Now the dust has settled somewhat and King looks to be on his way to Coventry the transfer will still arouse some anger but Boothroyd himself has handled the process well.

Nathan Cameron: The eye-catching name on Boothroyd’s first competitive teamsheet, rookie centre-half Cameron got the nod to face Portsmouth despite the availability of Richard Wood and James McPake.

It’s hard to see Chris Coleman having made the same decision, one that at the same time fired a warning to the club’s experienced players while giving the crop of promising youngsters coming through belief that they would play if good enough.

So, room for some cautious optimism although the honeymoon period is not dissimilar to those experienced under the likes of Dowie and Coleman.

On the pitch, while no-one could mistake City for the Brazil side of 1970, Boothroyd has played with two strikers and two wideman in all three league games with the consequence that the Sky Blues have always looked in with a shout of scoring goals and taking points even when not playing well.