Sky Blues Manager Mark Robins revisited his favourite Emirates FA Cup memories as he spoke about the importance of the competition both personally and as a club.
Robins’ side get their FA Cup campaign underway against Derby County tomorrow, as Derby visit the Coventry Building Society Arena at 12:30pm.
“You don’t need to convey how important it is and how special of a competition it is,” Robins stated.
“This club has obviously won it, that’s been probably one of the most talked about occasions in the club’s history. That’s how special it was back in 1987.
“From everybody’s perspective, if you’re involved in it you want to progress in it for a number of reasons.
“It’s a really, really good cup competition that is difficult to get through. It’s a very difficult competition too in terms of even progressing into the third round from the first. Those clubs from lower down the pyramid have got to fight and scrap from August-September time, so it is a tough competition to be involved in and even if you’re a top club in the top division it’s difficult to win.
“It’s a special competition because of that, and obviously you’ve got teams from different levels playing against each other. That’s what makes it so special, the fact that teams can continually throw up upsets every season. That’s something which you want to avoid if you’re a bigger club, but also you want to try and overcome those bigger clubs.”
The manager also revisited his favourite highlights of winning the FA Cup with Manchester United in 1990, when his side beat Crystal Palace in the final.
“It was the old Wembley and the fact that Manchester United have a rich history in the competition. You don’t go to Wembley and lose, that was always drummed into us and obviously we were playing Crystal Palace who had played against Liverpool in the semi-final and beaten them.
“We had a replay against Oldham Athletic, who were a really good team and a difficult opponent in those semi-finals. Just to get there, we had worked as hard as any time which I can remember.
“We were away from home in every round, the semi-final was at Maine Road against a team which were in your face and it was a tough game.
“But the biggest thing which strikes you is the support, what it means to the support and has meant over many, many years. The biggest thing for me was getting into a stadium which was absolutely jam-packed full of supporters from both teams. The noise which it generated was incredible.
“Any occasion at Wembley is like that, especially at Coventry City. I went there in the Checkatrade Trophy, which was a cup final where supporters came out in their droves and the noise which they generated was incredible.
“You can’t hear each other talk on the pitch; the noise on those occasions is just incredible. The excitement is there, you can feel it in the build-up.”
Supporters can see details on purchasing tickets to watch the Sky Blues against Derby County for tomorrow’s 12:30pm kick-off at the Coventry Building Society Arena by clicking HERE.