Coventry City: EFL expert points to "red flag" that surrounds Mark Robins sacking | OneFootball

The Sky Blues decided to get rid of their legendary boss after a 2-1 home defeat against Derby County.

EFL pundit George Elek has described Coventry City's decision to sack legendary manager Mark Robins as "a bit of a red flag."

A 2-1 defeat at home to Derby County will almost certainly be Robins' last ever in charge of the Sky Blues. He already returned once to help save the club - he did that and more - but a third time at the helm now feels very unlikely after his dismissal.

Coventry were 17th in the Championship at the time of the decision, level on points with Plymouth Argyle in 22nd but only seven points off the play-off spots.

They'd had a rough start in comparison to expectations, but this move by the City hierarchy blindsided many.

George Elek's verdict on Mark Robins' sacking by Coventry

Elek, the co-host of the Not The Top 20 Podcast, has stated that he doesn't believe getting rid of Robins was the right thing to do, adding that signs of improvement were there.

"I mean, I definitely don't agree with the decision," said Elek on the most recent episode of the show.

"To sack him off the back of a 2-1 defeat against Derby after a performance that, if you take out the final result, if you look at what happened in both boxes within the game, Coventry created better chances; Derby being clinical with their chances, Coventry being fairly wasteful.

"It is in line with the two previous wins, away at Middlesbrough and at home to Luton (Town), where the performances were improving after a difficult start to the season.

"I would say that all the evidence that we had to hand was that Coventry were kind of getting back at it. So, in my mind, the decision to sack him after that one game, especially with an international break coming up and a trip to Sunderland on Saturday, it's a bit of a red flag.

"Clearly, the Coventry fanbase will have an affinity towards Robins that means that he is always welcome there. But we also know that football fans are fickle, and it's perfectly possible for fans to appreciate a manager but also turn on them off the back of some (bad) results.

"The fact that Coventry fans, pretty much to a man, felt betrayed at this having been done is, for me, also a signifier that things hadn't gone too far; this didn't necessarily have to be the end of the cycle."

City chairman Doug King said, at a fans' forum on Monday evening, that the decision to move on from their long-serving manager was in part due to Robins' "dismantling" of the club's coaching staff, including getting rid of Adi Viveash, as per Andy Turner.

This came after reports suggested that a target of reaching the Premier League within three seasons, starting in 2022/23 and ending this season, had been set for the now former boss, who looked unlikely to achieve that goal in this campaign with the way that things had started.

King also added that he would like to have Robins' successor in place "within ten days" but that, if an appointment is not made in that time, there shouldn't be any panic. A draw away at league leaders Sunderland on Saturday probably bought him a bit more time.

Mark Robins' historic achievements with Coventry should have earned him a bit more time

The work that Robins did for the Sky Blues across his two stints with the club, especially in the second one, should have given him enough credit in the bank to be able to push on for a bit longer this season before he was let go.

Two promotions, two trips to Wembley and so many other great memories came to City while Robins was at the helm, stuff that supporters wouldn't have dreamed of when he first came back.