Coventry City striker Lukas Jutkiewicz has been give the number nine shirt as worn last season by the departed Marlon King. The move goes some way to dispel the persistent rumours among the gossip mongers that he is about to leave for newly promoted Southampton.
The striker bagged a tally of nine goals last season, several from the penalty spot, but the manager Andy Thorn has enough faith in the 22 year old striker to come good in the coming season.
Jutkiewicz said, “It’s a big season for me, especially now that Marlon has gone. I know that the manager has said that it is time for me to step up. He has given me the No.9 which I am very happy about and I am looking forward to kicking on from last year."
“Getting the number is a nice touch from the manager and little bit of support and statement because he feels that I can kick on to the next level. He has also said he is going to play me as a central striker the whole time because a lot of time last season I was pushed out onto the wing or left side of midfield at times, so it will be nice to just play down the middle.”
The loss of several players during the summer has been a bone of contention among the fans of the Sky Blues, but Jutkiewicz, along with many other players, can see many positives arising out of having a smaller squad.
Jutkiewicz believes, like his manager, that the squad is now a much tighter knit one and with a superior team spirit.
“It is something we spoke about as a group when we first came back, that we will have a really tight dressing room this year,” he said.
“We are not sure if there will be any more new additions but it’s almost like we feel we can get stronger in the face of adversity a little bit, and we feel the squad will be a lot tighter for it. And hopefully that will help the performances.”
Commenting on the persistent speculation surrounding interest from several other clubs, including his home town club Southampton, he said, “They were asking me what was going on but I didn’t really know anything about it or expect anything to be written about it."
“A mate sent me the link to the story but it was the first I had heard anything about it and until I get told otherwise I will just carry on. I have not even spoken to the manager about it to be honest because it is not something I have even thought about."
"There is nothing really to be said because I really enjoy being here at Coventry and I am really looking forward to the new season, but it is always a nice compliment because it means you must be doing something right if people are talking about you, regardless of whether the story is true or not. So it was a bit of an ego boost going into the season.”
In an effort to improve himself as a player and to boost his fitness, Jutkiewicz put himself though a summer fitness programme to be certain that he started the new campaign in better shape than he ended the old one.
He revealed, “I had a few weeks away when I did absolutely nothing because I had a bit of hip trouble at the end of last season, but I had a fitness coach that I knew from Everton and I did a couple of weeks with him up at Mottram Hall in Macclesfield and I feel really good on it."
"In previous seasons I have done running on my own but these were specific sessions working on my fitness and I have come back really good, but I was itching to get back because of the way we finished last season when I didn’t really want it to end, so I feel good.”
Jutkiewicz was asked if he was looking forward to any particular fixture in the coming season and he replied, “I was a Southampton fan growing up and I had a season ticket down at the Dell and used to love watching Matt Le Tissier.”
“I have not played at St Mary’s as a professional so I am looking forward to that but I have got a bit of a wait because it is the last game of the season and I obviously always look out for the Portsmouth game as well because of the rivalry with Saints, but it is a good start for us and massive game."
"We drew with Leicester twice last year. They have made some good signings so it will be a good test and then we have Birmingham away in the second which is another one that the fans will enjoy.”