Mark Robins reveals plans for Callum O'Hare against Stoke City after missing Coventry City v Plymouth Argyle | OneFootball

Coventry City manager Mark Robins has had to explain the strange decision to leave in-form attacking midfielder Callum O'Hare out of the matchday squad for their midweek game against Plymouth Argyle and revealed he expects him to be raring to go for Saturday's game against Stoke City.

Robins' side were only able to take a point away from Home Park on Wednesday night, and that was only thanks to a late equaliser from Liam Kitching, in the sixth minute of added time. Coventry had controlled the game for the most part, but a scrappy goal from the central defender was required to get the Sky Blues back to 2-2 late on.

Plymouth Argyle - Coventry City Live Score

Coventry underperformed their xG, once again, scoring twice from an xG of 2.44, according to Sofascore. They are seventh in the league for open play xG, as per The Analyst, but they have only scored the 10th most goals from open play in the Championship.

They would be in an even worse place in those standings were it not for O'Hare, who has been a revelation since coming back. But the 25-year-old wasn't included in the matchday squad, and, after the disappointing result, the boss had to justify his decision.

Mark Robins explains why Callum O'Hare wasn't in Coventry squad for Plymouth game

The manager revealed after the game that he didn't include O'Hare in the matchday squad to give him a rest, but he said that the attacking midfielder was not happy with this decision.

Robins said: "He’s gone from 0 to 100 miles per hour after 12 months [out injured] and it was always going to catch up with him. He’s a bit sore, and to sit him on a bus for ten hours and expect him to play for 20 minutes wasn’t on, because I couldn’t have started him. So I am hoping the rest does him good."

O'Hare suffered an ACL injury on Boxing Day 2022 that kept him out of action until the end of October 2023.

"He was disappointed, one hundred percent upset and disappointed he couldn’t make it, but ultimately it’s the right decision, and hopefully we’ll get the benefit from that on Saturday," added Robins.

The 54-year-old added that he was fine with how O'Hare reacted because he's the type of player who always wants to be on the pitch if he can be, but Robins said that O'Hare knew it was the right decision.

"We’re looking after him and it’s in his best interests but, like I say, hopefully, that will be of benefit to us at the weekend and we can go and back this up and have the fire in their bellies to get a win away at Stoke."

Resting Callum O'Hare was the right choice

Since the 25-year-old properly got his legs back under him, he's been one of the best players in the league. Since getting off the mark with two goals against Birmingham City in early December, he's registered a combined 10 goals and assists, in all competitions, in 14 matches.

He is such a difference-maker for this team that they can't afford to risk him getting another long-term injury. He has the ability to win games on his own, and that will be vital come play-off time if the Sky Blues make it there. He can make goals out of nothing, and that is evidenced in his xG numbers, especially when you compare it to the rest of the team who've struggled in front of goal for most of the season.

Coventry are still in the playoffs, despite dropping points against Argyle. They are well positioned to claim fifth or sixth in the league come the end of the season, but they'll need to have O'Hare around to make the most of it, and a decision like this could be so beneficial when that time comes.