"Good enough" - Pundit urges Mark Robins to make Coventry City change involving 25-y/o | OneFootball

The EFL pundit has voiced his thoughts as the Sky Blues continue to stall in front of goal

EFL pundit George Elek believes Mark Robins needs to move Ephron Mason-Clark into his favoured position to get more out of him, and his Coventry City side.

The Sky Blues have struggled to get going in the 24/25 Championship campaign, with just two wins from their opening nine matches leaving them sitting near the bottom of the table.

With ten goals scored all season, City would have been expecting more from their strike force during the opening exchanges, with Robins failing to get a tune out of the bountiful attacking options at his disposal.

But Elek believes he may have fond the key to their bluntness up top, with a switch in positions required to bring the best out of the former Peterborough United man.

George Elek raises Ephron Mason-Clark, Haji Wright issue

Having been loaned back to Posh after signing for Coventry in January, this season has seen Mason-Clark make his breakthrough in the City lineup, albeit in a different position to what he has been used to.

Those at London Road will have been familiar with the ex-Barnet man’s marauding runs from the left flank during his time in League One, with his dribbling ability usually resulting in a shot being unleashed as he cut in towards goal.

But with Robins utilising him more on the opposite flank so far this season, that has been a much harder task, with the right-footer tending to opt towards the touchline, or cutting inside onto his weaker left foot.

As a result, attacking efficiency has been less than ideal, with City suffering as a result, and Elek believes Mason-Clark has every right to be used in his natural position, with Wright among those misfiring so far this season.

Speaking on the Not The Top 20 Podcast, Elek said: “Ephron Mason-Clark was brought in from Peterborough, and he is someone who is playing on the right hand side of the front three, because Haji Wright dominates that left-hand side.

“In Mason-Clark, if you look back to his time at Peterborough and look at his shot map, you will see that a lot of his goals were scored in between the goalkeeper’s right-hand post and the penalty box.

“A lot of his shots came from there too, and that is because he is a right-footed player, whose key attacking skill is drifting inside off the left-hand side, finding areas to shoot from inside the box on that left-hand channel.

“Now, because he is playing on the right-hand side, he is having very few opportunities to do that.

“His total xG this season is 1.58, he is yet to score, that will come, we know from him that he is a player who is eminently good enough to improve that output.

“However, he is not being given the opportunity to play in his correct position, and given that Haji Wright isn’t playing particularly well, I would like to see him given an opportunity.”

George Elek backs Mark Robins to turn things around at Coventry City

While the Mason-Clark issue could well help Cov in solving their issues going forward in the weeks to come, Elek is confident that the Sky Blues will have a change of fortunes before too long.

With Ellis Simms and Brandon Thomas-Asante also ready to fire in the goals, it is only a matter of time before things start to click for Robins and his side, just as we saw in their 3-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers last week.

That victory was their first in the league since August, and although the league table may not be showing it just yet, Elek believes a small tweak here and there is all the side need to start reaping results, rather than wholesale changes.

Elek added: “If Mason-Clark comes in and plays off the left-hand side, then Wright will not feel as comfortable in his position, and that might improve his output too.

“I think the overarching thing here, and also Ellis Simms and Brandon Thomas-Asante are players who are both struggling to find their shooting boots, despite the fact we know they are quality too .

“But my take on things is that things will probably improve without them doing anything, realistically.”