Mark Robins only had warm words for former club Coventry City as he was unveiled as the new Stoke manager this afternoon.
The man who lifted the Sky Blues from League Two to the cusp of the Premier League in nearly eight rollercoaster years before being sacked in November has agreed a three-and-a-half year deal to manage the Potters.
His tenure officially begins with Saturday’s 12.30pm kick-off against Plymouth Argyle in front of his new home fans, but Robins was happy to discuss the old days when quizzed by Sky Sports.
Asked about the anger amongst some fans over his sacking and the “dignified silence” he had maintained after being shown the door by Sky Blues owner Doug King, he said: “I honestly have nothing but good thoughts, good feelings and good experiences from Coventry City. Loved the place, loved the people.
“I got to know a lot of people, a lot of the supporters to be fair, and there was some brilliant help during that period, and I’m forever grateful. That chapter is something I will never forget. But this is a new one. I can’t wait to get started with the people here at Stoke and for the supporters of Stoke City.”
For the record, Robins led Coventry to two promotions, a Championship play-off final and an FA Cup semi-final during his time as manager, but his new appointment also bookends that record in two intriguing ways.
A 1-0 defeat at the bet365 Stadium on the opening day of the current season was the start of Robins’ woes as Coventry boss and would ultimately lead to his dismissal. And in moving to Stoke he becomes their ninth man in charge of first-team affairs since the start of 2018 – when his Coventry side, then in the bottom division, knocked the Premier League Potters out of the FA Cup and prompted the sacking of Mark Hughes.
Coventry will host Stoke on March 8 in the reverse fixture – pitting new boss Frank Lampard against the man he replaced at the CBS Arena, but Robins was quick to play down the significance of the match.
He added: “I really think any emotion was dealt with during the six weeks that I’ve had off. I’m not saying that gets it totally out of your system because it doesn’t, you’ve still got the thoughts there, but my allegiances and everything have shifted now.
“I’ve got 100% focus on Stoke City and making my tenure here as successful as I possibly can do.”
Asked what a successful end to the season at Stoke would be for him, he explained: “Well, I think we’ve got to try and follow on from what (caretaker boss) Ryan Shawcross has set out with his team over the last two games (a victory over Sunderland and a draw at Burnley). We’ve got to try and enhance that and try and move it forward. That’s all you can do.
“I am not going to make any sort of bold predictions for this season. I think we’ve got to try and do as well as we possibly can do and make sure that we are picking up points on a regular basis and being really competitive in what is a really competitive division.”
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