COVENTRY City skipper Michael Doyle today called for the side to reproduce at Wembley the stunning semi-final display at Notts County, adding: ‘We are at our best playing on the front foot.’
He told this morning’s press conference at Ryton ahead of Monday’s League Two play-off final versus Exeter City: “I came back here last July with hopes of getting promoted. It now comes down to this one game.
“To get to Wembley and maybe finish the job off is what everyone wants.
“We’ve at our best when we play as we did against Notts County and Cheltenham, playing on the front foot.
“We’ll try and replicate that performance. We have to make sure at the end of the game we win it.
“Both teams look to play football. Both teams will want to get control of the game. We had a good game against them at the Ricoh. At Exeter it was a tight game and we were unlucky that day.
“Our fans have taken over every ground they’ve gone to. Monday’s going to be a massive crowd from Coventry and we just hope we can reward them on the day.
“Wembley is a place where you can walk out and think ‘wow’. But if you get caught up too much in it, the game can pass you by. You have to stay focused.”
Of this week, Doyle said: “I’m just concentrated on the training and keeping calm.
“All the training and preparation is more or less done now. There’s not a lot more you can really do now. Just keep ticking over.
“We’re travelling down on Sunday. No more needs to be said now. It’s about keeping the energy for Monday.
“Come Monday, we’ll be ready to go and make sure we’re fired up. For now it’s about relaxing, getting focused and ready for the game.”
Asked about the pressure of the occasion, the skipper said: “I don’t think we’ll get a tougher and bigger game than we got last Friday.
“The pressure was massive as we wanted to get to the final. It was a really good performance from the whole team.”
Of the form of strikers Max Biamou and Marc McNulty, he said: “It gives us all a lift when you know we’ve got players like that in the team but also the players around them. We’ve grown as a team since Christmas.”
With national journalists present, Doyle was asked about the potential to move the club in the right direction after turbulence off the pitch. He said: “When I came here the aim was to get people back to the Ricoh. In the last few years, it’s been negative when fans have come onto the pitch but you can see the change with fans coming onto the pitch celebrating with the players.
“Football clubs are built on results. I knew what I was coming into. I’ve lived here for a long time. I just embraced it. I didn’t think the club could go any lower.
“The fans couldn’t be prouder of the way things are at the moment.”
