Sky Blues Under-18s boss Gary Mills has praised the individual and collective quality of his young players, despite seeing them exit the Professional Development League Cup following a defeat against Bristol City.
The defeat was Mills’ first knock-out fixture in charge of his young Sky Blues group, after starting his tenure with a string of impressive league results.
Bradley Stretton scored Coventry’s only goal of the game, while Aiden Dausch landed praise from his manager for his "outstanding" performance against the young Robins.
Issac Moore and Elliot Betjemann were also praised.
"It was a really good PDL Cup game," said Mills. "It was competitive, it had energy, and it was a fantastic performance from the lads.
"We should have left with a win with the number of chances we created. The performance was fantastic and the only gripe I can have is with the key moments of the game, the moments that decided the result.
"The game was great for the development of my young players as their performance was very good, both individually and collectively,” he continued.
"Bradley’s goal was very good and I was really pleased for him because he has been a shining light since he came in. His attitude and application, as well as his ability, have been incredible.
"Isaac Moore and Eliot Betjemann were also fantastic in the middle, while Dausch was very, very good.
"The attitude of those young players has been a big thing so far. Their development, both as people and players, has been great to see.
"We are giving these young players a base to build from and they’re all very talented boys, it’s just about getting that work rate to marry up with their ability."
The Under-18s will next be in action against Crewe Alexandra on Saturday afternoon (February 11) as league action returns.
Looking ahead to the weekend, Mills said: "It’s now on the players who did not play at the weekend to try to force their way into the team, and on those who did play to impress me enough to keep hold of their place.
"We’ll go into the game with a plan, a structure, and we’ll look to go there and give a positive performance."