Tony Mowbray previews the away trip to Oldham while looking toward building his Sky Blue squad for next season...
Tony Mowbray takes his Coventry City side to Oldham Athletic on Sunday afternoon for the conclusion of the 2015/16 League One season.
Having beaten promotion hopefuls Millwall and Bradford City, as well as confidently dispatching Sheffield United in recent weeks, the Sky Blues have good momentum entering their final league game.
Mowbray has emphasised that the chance to finish eighth in the league is incentive enough for his players, coupled with the fact that an eight placed finish would represent City’s highest ranking since relegation from the Championship in 2012.
Mowbray said: “Every team should try and finish as high as they can. The aim is to finish eighth for personal pride. We set the bar and precedent high for next season and it will be to finish above that.”
“Always the aim has been to get out of this league, but by playing a brand of football that suits us and this football club. You don’t progress through the leagues by compromising your style of play.
“I’ve always tried to play football with the ball, utilising technical players. We play a certain brand of football, that will help young players develop their careers. The aim is to compete at the top of this league and beyond that.”
Oldham Athletic have been on an equally impressive run of late, with four wins from seven in April sealing their League One status for another season.
Having flirted with the drop zone all season, John Sheridan’s side have witnessed a remarkable turnaround during his short tenure and currently lie four places above the relegations spots.
“The run that Oldham have been on under Sheridan has been remarkable. They were a relegation favourite, but they have stabilised and had some great results.
“I know a few of their squad, they have got threats. We expect a tough game on the final day of the season. Teams want to finish their home season on a high as we did last weekend against Sheffield.”
Mowbray revealed that he will be spending the summer rebuilding his squad at City, with many of the current team returning to their parent clubs or out of contract.
Mowbray added: “I inherited a dressing room at end of last season and it was interesting to see who were the voices in there.
“We've had meetings about next season, some meetings with Premier League clubs. It will continue all through June. It will depend on the financial pecking order of course, but we’ll be looking to bring in players that want to represent our club.”