BLACKBURN Rovers boss Michael O’Neill hopes to delay Coventry City’s promotion party for at least another game.
The interim Rovers boss made five appearances for the Sky Blues from 1996 to 1998 when the club played in the Premier League.
O’Neill became Blackburn boss in February on a deal until the end of the season alongside his role as Northern Ireland manager.
Coventry head to Ewood Park needing just a single point to clinch promotion to the Premier League with Rovers just four points above the relegation zone at the other end of the table.
And O’Neill pointed to recent results in the division as reason for his side to believe they can deny Coventry a Premier League return on Friday night.
O’Neill said: “The expectation lies with Coventry who have been top of the league for a long time.
“They’ve been very strong all season. I don’t think there’s any doubt they’ll be playing Premier League football next season.
“But we hope to able to delay that celebration until at least midweek.
“We’ve seen results recently where teams maybe wouldn’t have expected those results to be the way they were.
“Teams below us have got very positive results where we may have looked it at and thought it wasn’t going to go that way.
“Teams will be looking at this game, thinking it’s going to be a tough game for Blackburn to take points in.
“But we believe we’re capable of doing that.”
Coventry travel to Blackburn on Friday, April 17 with kick-off at 8pm at Ewood Park.
