It’s all over for the Sky Blues

Coventry City’s stay in the Championship ended with a whimper as already relegated Doncaster Rovers ensured the Sky Blues would be joining them in League One with a 2-0 win at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Entering the game with an outside chance of pulling off a great escape, City started as though they were already resigned to their fate, only perking up halfway through the first-half with Jordan Clarke causing plenty of problems for the Rovers rearguard.

With Bristol City winning at home to Barnsley the game looked up for the Sky Blues and once again they laboured after the break before Cody McDonald fashioned a chance which hit the post and Gary McSheffrey blazed a good chance over the bar amidst increasing anti-SISU chants from the stands.

The mood darkened further when Richard Keogh was caught out, pulling down his man and being hit with a double whammy of a penalty and a red card. The resulting goal was almost lost in a standing ovation for the City skipper, whose anguish at his team’s plight was palpable.

Rovers sealed the points as scuffles broke out between supporters and stewards, a sad end to a desperate season in the long history of the football club.

Andy Thorn afterwards told BBC CWR that he had held talks with acting chief executive Tim Fisher and that he had been offered the chance to carry on as manager next season, an offer that he would be prepared to accept if he was backed to make big changes to the squad.