Sky Blues boss lauds praise on his young side after they rally from behind to beat Bristol Rovers in penultimate pre-season friendly
Coventry City boss Steven Pressley said Coventry City fans should be excited about the future of the football club after a young Sky Blues side came from behind to beat Bristol Rovers in the club's penultimate pre-season friendly.
Andy Monkhouse gave the Gas a 41st minute lead against the run of play at the Memorial Stadium but a City side with six teenagers on the pitch turned the tie on its head as Danny Swanson's top corner finish and Aaron Phillips' powerful header handed the Sky Blues a second consecutive friendly win.
Pressley said: "I'm exceptionally pleased especially when you consider the age of the group tonight. We had three 18-year-olds, two 17-year-olds and a 19-year-old and they were quite incredible.
"You come to a place like this where Bristol Rovers will probably be one of the favourites to get promoted from the Conference next season and then for us to play in the manner that we did was terrific and it bodes well for the club.
"The young players are the future of the football club and if I'm a Coventry City supporter I would be very excited by what they've done tonight.
"I said it at my previous club that I wish I could jump forward five or six years just so I could see what kind of players they would go on to be and I got that again tonight."
As a whole Pressley lauded praise on his sidewho were coming off the back of an impressive performance to beat Watford 1-0 on Wednesday night.
"The boys played without fear. They trusted each other and handled the ball under pressure," he added.
"I must say though that I was delighted with the attitude of Adam Barton who has been out in the cold a bit but his attitude towards playing the game tonight was first class and we also got a really good look at just how good Danny Swanson is.
"He is an unbelievable talent, a truly gifted footballer and I'm really excited by him so all in all a really good night."
Pressley finished by underlining his pride at seeing his side respond to a half time team talk and turn the game around.
"I said at half time I was pleased with the performance but you can get all the pats on the back you want, football is about winning games and the boys responded and I was really proud of them.
"We've made big strides in the past four or five days. I've said before that I need to commend the likes of Pete Tierney for the work he has done with the players on their fitness and tonight was evident of how fit we are.
"They've come through a rigourous pre-season so I'm pleased with the development they've all shown."