FOOTBALL: YOUNG Sky Blues starlet Ben Stevenson has given interim manager Mark Venus the thumbs up and is confident he is the right man to turn the club’s fortunes around.
Venus replaced Tony Mowbray as manager following his resignation at the end of September and has expressed his desire to carry on in the Sky Blues hotseat in January, when a permanent appointment is expected to be made.
Former Wolves and Ipswich Town defender Venus enjoyed a positive start in charge, winning six of his opening nine matches in charge which saw him nominated for the League One manager of the month award.
A run of four straight league defeats has seen the Sky Blues drop back down into the bottom four but Stevenson feels Venus can guide the club back towards the top end of the table.
“I enjoy working with Mark Venus,” Stevenson told the Observer. “I’ve played most games under him since he came in.
“He seems to have a lot of time for the young players. I think he’s been good because he’s not changed the way we’re playing and we’re still trying to do the same things, play football in the right way and get the ball down and play.
“That helps me because I’m not really the sort of player that likes to hit it long and just play it to the strikers – that’s not really my game.
“Venus staying on as manager is probably the best thing that could have happened for me because he’s kept the same style of play.”
The club’s league position is a big worry to Stevenson who has been with the Sky Blues since he was eight.
The young playmaker is determined to turn the club’s season around and give supporters something to smile about over the festive period.
“It has been horrible because I’ve been at the club for so long and it’s become such a huge part of me.
“It’s not nice where we are in the league. It’s not where we should be and we understand the fan’s frustration.
“We’re determined to turn things around. When we did start winning I think you could see the confidence coming back.
“We want to give the fans something to smile about so we’re going to do our very best to turn things around and do the best.
“It’s down to us players to making sure results go our way. Once we start scoring more goals we’ll be fine and I think we should be right up there really.”
On a personal level it has been a memorable season so far for Stevenson who made his first team debut against portsmouth in the EFL Cup.
Since then he has gone on to make 21 appearances for the Sky Blues and he has also scored two goal of the season contenders, a part of his game Stevenson is determined to express more often.
He added: “I want to score more goals but I think the position I’ve been playing in recently is more about protecting the back four and feeding the strikers.
“If I do start playing higher up in the two more advanced roles then I definitely would get into more shooting areas.
“Where I have been playing now is where I like to play. I like to get on the ball as much as possible and play forward. I do like the defending part of my position as well – it’s part of the game now.
“I wont’ jump out of a tackle. It’s not just about tackling though, it’s about interceptions too and breaking forward. I like the position because you can do pretty much everything from there.”
