The City striker hasn't taken the City by storm and he extended his time with the Sky Blues last week...
It’s difficult to write a sentence about Adam Armstrong which doesn’t contain a hyperbole; such has been his impact this season in a Sky Blue shirt.
Every club wants a goal-scorer, every successful club needs a goal-scorer. Armstrong’s 16 goals so far this season has seen him score more goals than Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema.
Even the most eternal of optimists couldn’t have predicted the impact he has made since signing for the club on loan back in September.
Around the training ground, it’s noticeable Armstrong doesn’t just have colleagues but friends in the dressing room and he has praised the squad’s ‘togetherness’.
“I love it here. It’s my first loan and loving every minute of it. I thought there was a chance of it happening last year but I stayed at Newcastle,” Armstrong reflected.
“I’m delighted I took the opportunity to come here and I’m helping the club get back to where it belongs hopefully.
“In the dressing room, we’re all together. We’re all good mates and it is a special environment to be a part of. There are a lot of lads here who are on loan and then you get players come in who are on trial but everyone is made welcome.
“It’s something every club needs. Every player’s feels a part of it and that togetherness will get you through the hard times.”
The England youth international has been making noises in the game for a considerable amount of time, especially after making his Newcastle United debut in March 2014 against Fulham. He became the second youngster player to ever play for the Magpies and has been talked about up on the Tyne ever since.
All things considered, the Sky Blues deserve a lot of credit for tempting Armstrong to the club in the summer with plenty of Championship clubs showing a firm interest in the young talent.
Having made his move to the Ricoh Arena, Armstrong said he hasn’t been surprised by the progress the team has made since a poor pre-season.
“It hasn’t surprised me how well we’ve done. When I came to the club, I knew how big a club it is and how good the gaffer is,” he continued.
“He’s brought a lot of players in and they’ve all done well. We had a difficult start in pre-season but since the Wigan game, it’s been amazing and I think we’ve got better.
“We’d like to get into the Championship and we don’t really want to let it slip now. We’ve come too far now to not aim for promotion and we’ve got to keep up those standards we’ve set for ourselves.”
He started the season with a noticeable bang. A brace against Wigan on the opening day at the Ricoh Arena followed by another brace in the 4-0 win at Millwall. Suddenly, everyone was talking about Armstrong.
So much was the media frenzy around the young striker, the decision was made to take him off media duties to help concentrate on his game, and it’s definitely worked.
Armstrong netted his first hat-trick against Crewe Alexandra a few weeks ago which he described as a ‘great moment’ but admits it has got more difficult.
“I score in two’s a lot and I’d been waiting for the hat-trick for some time so it was really nice when I was able to get that at Crewe. It was a special moment for me and one I’d never forgot,” Armstrong said.
“It has become more difficult as time has gone on. A lot of teams are looking at us and try and figure out how to stop us playing. We’ve got to get accustomed to that and work out more ways to break teams down.
“I’ve scored 16 goals now and I want to get even more. I need to work on my all-round game, I need to get better at everything and I’ll keep working hard on that. I could have scored more. You could say that in every game that you miss chances but it gives you something to work on.
“I’ve got a lot of good attributes but if I can make them all better, I feel like I could go a long way.”
Adam isn’t just your standard loan player. He has really brought into the club and what Coventry City represents. He regularly watches the Under-21s at the Alan Higgs Centre and was even seen sitting in a cold stand at Leamington FC as the Under-18s beat Stoke City in the FA Youth Cup on a Friday night.
Despite his tender age, Armstrong admits he enjoys spreading his wisdom to the younger players and feels a real part of the club.
Armstrong admitted: “I’ll help the younger lads as much as I can. I know I’m only young myself but I like to pass on a few things to people like Bassala Sambou.
“I feel a part of the club here. I go and watch the Under-18s and Under-21s when I can as I was doing that not long ago so it’s important to support the young lads.”
So, at the time of writing, the deal to extend his stay hasn’t been done. Although, it looks extremely likely. In fact, it always has with Newcastle boss Steve McLaren regularly commenting on the quality of coaching and management from Tony Mowbray.
After admitting he’d like to stay, it’s quite obvious one of the major reasons why.
Armstrong said: “Yeah, I want to stay here, it’s my goal. If Newcastle bring us back, they bring me back but I want to stay for the rest of the season. I’m focusing on playing for Coventry City week-in, week-out and I want to do my best for the club.
“The gaffer has been massive to me. He’s been my first real gaffer really, a gaffer who talks to me every day and gets the best out of me. He’s the reason behind our success, the togetherness in the squad comes from him and we’re all working for him.”
At 16 goals already and with half the season remaining, Armstrong has a huge opportunity to write himself into the history books of Coventry City FC. And if he continues, hopefully we’ll be talking about loaning him back for next season, only to test him in the second tier.
FANS QUESTIONS
Craig Evans - @Evans1883 – Twitter asks:
“How are you enjoying your time at Coventry?”
Answer: Yeah, I’m loving it. It’s a great opportunity for me and I definitely needed it to help my career. I’m very happy that I took this opportunity.
James Martin - @fatback87 – Twitter asks:
“Would you rather fight five duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?”
Answer: I’d just take on the big duck! I’d get underneath him and wipe his legs out, maybe clip his wings a bit as well. Tough battle though.
Gradus - @egradus – Twitter asks:
“If you weren’t a footballer, what other profession would you do?”
Answer: It’s a hard question. I probably would have tried to be a PE teacher or something like that, something in coaching maybe. I didn’t like school but if I really had to, it would be a PE teacher.
Tahira May Karament - @MayTahira – Twitter
“Most memorable goal?”
Answer: I’d probably say the one recently against Millwall. And then the one against Peterborough. Actually, I’d say the one against Peterborough as it was more important and a great moment. Being 2-0 down at half-time, and coming back to win was a great moment.
Rochy_ccfc_ – Instagram
“Do you think you can play for England one day?”
Answer: I’d like to think so. I’ve come through the youth ranks with England and I really enjoy playing for my country so if I can do it at the top level, it’d be great.
Jordan_motlib – Instagram
“Who’s the worst dressed?”
Answer: There are a few contenders for this. Romain is more old school with what he wears, so he goes for the old look. Sometimes he pulls it off but other days, I’m not sure. Lee Burge! He won’t like us for this but I don’t like what he wears at all. Same shoes, same tracksuits, just doesn’t impress. I’m right up there, a good 8/10. I bring it most days.
Madders10_ - Instagram
“Why didn’t you let James Maddison take the penalty at Crewe Alexandra at the weekend?”
Answer: Haha, not letting that go. He was never going to take it. I hadn’t scored in a while as well so I wanted to get my numbers going again. He’s just jealous.