Give Dowie Time - Houchen

"Coventry are a club close to my heart and I dearly want them to be successful, but the first priority is for them to get out of this current crisis they find themselves in - if a crisis is what it is," said the hero to many .

"Everything at Coventry is geared towards Premiership football and no-one could have been more determined to make that happen than Micky. "They were an extremely hard-working side under Micky but did they have the quality to get into the Premier League and stay there? No way.

"But every club's supporters think they are the bee's knees and, as soon as a manager goes on a four or five or six-game losing streak, you see the impatience and the manager gets sacked.

"Adrian Heath? I did my UEFA B coaching badge with Adrian and no-one knows more about football than he does because he has been in the game such a long time. "Now Adrian's gone as well and it smacks to me of a board looking for a quick fix.

"But will it work? "When a new manager comes in, you often see players who could not be bothered trying suddenly getting a new lease of life, but after a few weeks you will come down to the same nitty gritty."

"Coventry's season is by no means over yet, but by that I do not mean I think they might reach the play-offs. "They are six points above the Championship drop zone and I think they still need to be very careful not to become embroiled in a relegation fight."