STRIKER Marvin Sordell has received high praise from his new manager Tony Mowbray after impressing on his Sky Blues pre-season debut in Saturday’s 2-1 win a neighbours Nuneaton Town.
Midfielder Ruben Lameiras and academy graduate Devon Kelly-Evans both found the back of the net before Luke Shorthouse scored a second half consolation.
Sordell was introduced at half-time and the former Watford and Burnley striker showed glimpses of what he can do alongside Jodi Jones and George Thomas in a three-man attack.
The 25-year-old, who moved to the Sky Blues on a free transfer last week, almost scored a debut goal but his shot at goal late on struck the woodwork and Mowbray was pleased with what he has seen so far.
“Marvin (Sordell) has only has a few training sessions with the players, I think he may have got a bit isolated second half,” said Mowbray. “But from what I’ve seen in a short amount of time, there are flashes of real excitement. The boy has fast feet, hunger and he can strike a ball.
“He wants to kickstart his career again, get back to the levels he is capable of. He needs to keep his focus right and work hard, as long as he shows that I am sure the goals will come for him.
Speaking about Sordell at his first press conference this season last Friday, Mowbray continued: “Marvin is an experienced player, and we’ll look to help him rediscover his pathway in football.
“He was in the Premier League, a part of team GB and I can see he has obvious talent on the training ground.”
Mowbray opted to mix youth with experience for the Nuneaton friendly with both Marcus Tudgay and Sam Ricketts celebrating their recent contract extentions with a start, while Jacob Whitmore and Ryan Haynes also got a start.
Whitmore played a part in the opener after working his way down the left flank before combining with Lameiras who made space before dispatching a shot into the top right-hand corner of the net with 37 minutes played.
Six minutes later Kelly-Evans doubled City’s lead when he made the most of a mistake by Nuneaton goalkeeper De La Pas to score from close range.
Mowbray fielded a completely different team for the second period which saw the introduction of Jordan Willis, Vladimir Gadzhev and Jodi Jones but it was Nuneaton who scored the third and final goal of the game ten minutes from time.
Shorthouse beat Lee Burge from the edge of the area and despite Sordell striking the bar there was to be no more goals at Liberty Way.
“We played some youngsters who aren’t quite ready for first-team football, but overall they competed well and it was a good exercise,” Mowbray added.
“We’ll try different systems throughout preseason, it’s important to build a formation around your players. As we sign more players, our system might change. If you’ve got two fantastic centre forwards, you play them both.
“I’ve always got ideas of how I’d like to play, but that can change depending on the personnel at the club. We have to prepare for that first day of the season, and the players within my squad need to know their role and responsibilities.”