JOSH Eccles insists Coventry City must let their personality out on the pitch after slipping to defeat at Birmingham City.
Eccles drew the Sky Blues level early on at St Andrew’s after Marvin Ducksch put the home side ahead.
Coventry drew level for a second time when Ellis Simms cancelled out Lewis Koumas’s strike only for Ducksch to score again for Blues to condemn Frank Lampard’s side to defeat.
And Eccles insists the Sky Blues must begin to show their personality on the pitch if they are to achieve promotion to the Premier League.
Eccles said: “We know the talent we’ve got in the squad. We’ve got the belief.
“We’ve got the personality, it just needs to come out. The desire, the passion, it doesn’t come easy.
“If you want to get to the Premier League, you’ve got to work hard every game. You can’t just expect to win every game.
“These losses set you back but we’ve given ourselves such a head start with the start we had at the start of the season.
“It allows you the chance to bounce back in the next game.”
Coventry sit six points clear of Middlesbrough at the top of the table with Ipswich Town eight points behind but with a game in hand.
And Eccles admits the Sky Blues let in poor goals against Blues which left them with a mountain to climb on three separate occasions.
Eccles added: “We’ve had a pretty tough schedule but results like this hurt the most.
“Especially, when you play and feel like you should be beating your opponents.
“We’re disappointed. The game was there for the taking.
“It’s hard to do when you allow three pretty poor goals in.
“We shot ourselves in the foot, we’ve gave ourselves a mountain to climb.
“When you score and lose, it feels pointless.”
Midfielder Jamie Allen missed the match due to a close family bereavement.
The club showed their support for Allen by wearing black shirts with his name and number on during the warm-up.
Eccles said: “We’re such a tight-knit group this year, there’s no separate groups. We’re part of one.
“We sorted the shirts out before the game to show our support. He knows we’re always there for him.
“He means a lot to us. We all know what he can give to us in the team.”
Coventry are next in action against Stoke City in the FA Cup on Saturday, January 10 with kick-off at 3pm at the bet365 Stadium.
