Interim Manager Carr Expresses Shock Over Robins’ Sacking

Rhys Carr, who joined as first-team coach during the summer, stated that his appointment as interim boss of Coventry City, following Mark Robins’ dismissal, was an “absolute shock”. Robins held the distinction of being the English Football League’s longest-serving manager, having commenced his second tenure at Coventry in March 2017, during which he guided the Sky Blues from League Two to the Championship. However, the team has secured only four victories in 14 league matches this season, and his exit occurred after a 2-1 home loss to Derby County on Wednesday. Carr conveyed to BBC CWR, “It’s been a brilliant opportunity to work with him, but this situation has happened now, I’ve been asked to lead the team and I’ll do my best with that for as long as I’m needed to do so.” Carr, alongside former City midfielder George Boateng, became first-team coaches under Robins in the summer, following the departure of his long-standing assistant, Adi Viveash. Prior to this, Carr’s career included roles as a development coach at Sheffield United, Bristol Rovers, and Wolves, an assistant coach for the Republic of Ireland women’s team, and head of sports science at Bristol City. His initial responsibility as interim manager involves guiding the Sky Blues in a match against Championship leaders Sunderland at the Stadium Of Light on Saturday. He stated, “I want to pay my respects to Mark, who’s been an incredible manager for this football club. It’s an absolute shock but there’s another game tomorrow – and a big game – so that’s where our full focus has to go on to.” Carr further remarked, “Coming to the club over the summer, one of the first things that blew me away was the people are fantastic. There’s a lot of people who really care about the football club. “I’ve been asked to take this game and I’ll do that to the best of my ability. That’s how all the guys are approaching it, coaching staff, guys in the kitchen, the analysts, sports science, a lot of people want this club to do well.”It’s not about me. I’ve been asked to do a job for Coventry City going into the game and we’ll go day by day after that.” Robins’ departure drew criticism from various supporters and former club members; however, despite their 17th position in the table, the team remains clear of the relegation zone solely by goal difference. When questioned about the players’ desire to secure a victory at Sunderland for their previous manager, Carr responded: “In any human dynamic like that, there’s so many different people, so many different personalities, certainly they were in shock initially but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”We all want to do right by Coventry City Football Club which is ultimately why we’re all here.”They’re (Sunderland) a good team, they’re top of the league but we’ve got good players as well so we’re going to go there full of belief, confident, and have a go at the game.”We want to get a result for ourselves, we want to get a result for the football club and whatever drives individuals to be motivated to perform, that’s fine.”