It's About The Balance - Boothroyd

Last updated : 06 March 2011 By Covsupport News Service

Coventry City manager Aidy Boothroyd has said that he wants to get a balance for his team.

"It doesn't annoy me because there are two ways of looking at it," the City boss said to the Sunday Mercury. "The last thing you want is for the opposition to be saying what a lovely team you are and, thanks for the three points.

"It is about getting a balance and I think we were getting there. We started out at the beginning of the season when I first came in and I wanted us to be strong and difficult to beat. I wanted us to be hardy and horrible to play against because I thought that was what the team had lacked over a period of years.

"I didn't want the team to be a soft touch any more and the positive from that is that we are not a soft touch and you have to work very, very hard to get anything from Coventry City.

"As the season progressed and we got to the middle - and I pick out the Palace, QPR and Sheffield United games - we played really well with some wonderful football for long periods.

And yet when you analyse them, we beat Palace, drew with United and lost to QPR, so we obviously didn't get the balance quite right.

"But I think we are getting back to it - although the team has changed since that period - and this is where you need a bit of luck to keep the same team together. The team that has the record for getting out of the Championship with 106 points, Reading, barely changed.

"Their back four certainly didn't and that's what you build your team on, along with your goalkeeper. So keeping players fit is huge in any season."

Like every City supporter, Boothroyd knows that City need to score more goals and said: "I am pleased that we have become difficult to beat but in order to progress we have got to be able to score more.

"We upset Leicester but, to me, it is never about the long or short ball, it is about the right pass or wrong pass. And as time goes on I want us to play attacking, attractive football but winning always comes first and always will with me.

"Do we want to win? Of course we do. Do we want to play attractive football? Of course we do, and I think we have got the balance spot on in some games but not for the full 46 over the season. But that's going to take time."