Robins issues challenge to Clarke

Last updated : 11 February 2013 By Covsupport News Service/RD

Coventry City manager Mark Robins has issued a challenge to his striker Leon Clarke to start knocking in the goals.

Coventry have failed to score in their last two games despite having the better of both of them. It was the failure to convert the plethora of chances into goals that has now threatened to derail a promising season in which a promotion challenge and a Wembley cup final were distinct possibilities, but are now looking like outside chances.

The 1-0 home defeat to Yeovil has opened a 4 point gap between the two teams and a top six place and City have played two games more than their rivals.

Robins has told his Clarke he is looking for a more consistent contribution despite scoring 5 goals from his ten games since signing for the Sky Blues.

Robins told the Coventry Telegraph's Alan Poole: “Leon certainly needs to be better in and around the box because sometimes he looks like a world-beater, other times the proverbial panel beater. He’s worked OK but some times he can be a little bit stronger than he shows. That’s a label he’s carried around with him in his career and he’s better than that.

“He scored twice against Sheffield United and everybody’s toasting him, but it can’t just be one in six or one in three, it’s got to be more often than that when you’re playing for a club like Coventry and Leon’s played for some big clubs, Wolves, Sheffield Wednesday, so he knows exactly what’s expected.

“I’m still learning about him but he needs to learn about me as well. We just need that extra little bit of quality now because things have changed. Teams are coming here and parking the bus and if we are going to break them down we have to be cleverer and we have to work harder.

"Nobody is going to give us goals, especially at this stage of the season, unless you’re us, of course, because we’ve let them waltz through and score again. If you put the week’s two games side by side, you’ll see a very similar story, we’ve created a lot of chances and we haven’t taken one, which is embarrassing.

“That’s why strikers get paid more money and at the end of the day they haven’t done their job. There are certain levels of expectations when you are playing for this club and one of them is that you take your chances; I need people scoring goals.”

 

 

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