Josh Eccles told how Coventry City is the best place for him, after he made his 100th appearance for the club against Plymouth Argyle.
Eccles came off the bench and was given the captain’s armband, as he represented his boyhood side for the 100th time in his career.
Josh progressed through the ranks through the Academy to establish himself as a key member of Mark Robins side.
Looking back at that feat, Eccles gave out his thanks and looked at his role in the City squad, as they travel to Stoke City this weekend.
Making his 100th appearance against Plymouth…
“Until I got told I didn’t know too much, but when I found out I realised how big it was.
“Not many players go through the Academy set-up and go on to play 100 games for the club.
“Coventry City is a great team do that for, we’ve had some great players here over the years to do that and it really is a great place to get that chance.”
Who has helped him along the way…
“My Mum and Stepdad took me to every game from when I was a kid and they watched every game, but they did miss my debut which is a funny story.
“At the Academy, Andy Crabtree helped push me, Jason Farndon, Luke Tisdale and then the Gaffer and Adi for having the trust and faith in me to kick on and take the opportunity.”
Feeling like a senior player…
“No matter how old I get I will always feel like the homegrown kid.
“I do feel like a senior player now, I’ve grown up a lot and matured and I do help the younger players in the team now.
“When I was coming through, I had Shippers helping me and now I feel like I’m the next one to do that because it’s a great opportunity here and Coventry is the best place to get your chance.”
His role changes in the team…
“It depends on who I’m playing with. When I play with Ben Sheaf, it’s more of a rotation, so when I see him going forward, I drop back and vice versa.
“With Torp coming in he has proven he is a top player, and he likes getting forward and he has great shooting ability, so I do that defensive role more.”
Looking to keep more clean sheets…
“We’ve always credited ourselves as a good defensive team, and we showed that last season when we kept the most clean sheets in the Championship.
“We haven’t got enough this year and as a team we need to start improving more and help the strikers win us the games, because they’re scoring the goals, and we need to keep the clean sheets and that will help us get three points.”
Victor Torp taking on set-pieces…
“Victor has great technique and he’s done that at his previous clubs.
“It was new for me this season and I did say I was still working on them and improving, but I won’t be too down about that, we have scored a few goals from this season and hopefully Vic can help us add more.”
Heading to Stoke this weekend…
“We know they’re not in the best form at the moment, I think we need to go there and back up the point at Plymouth with a win if we can.”