STEVEN Pressley says his young side will have no fear heading into the 2014/15 season despite being handed a tough opening month of fixtures.
The Sky Blues will start the new campaign in August with a trip to Bradford on the opening day before hosting Sheffield United and relegated Barnsley the following week.
Sixfields will also play host to last season’s Premier League new-boys Cardiff City in-between in the First Round of the League Cup before travelling to MK Dons and Swindon Town towards the end of the month.
But Pressley is expecting his side to compete well against the so-called ‘top teams’ once again and says this season is likely to be more competitive than the last.
“I’ve come to expect that every game in League One is going to be difficult.” said Pressley.
“It looks like a tough start because you would expect Bradford to be around the play-offs and teams like Sheffield United and Barnsley to be strong contenders for automatic promotion.
“I’ve always said though that I don’t read into the fixtures too much. They’re only good or bad fixtures depending on the results that you get from them.
“Last season many of our best performances were against the top teams so we should take great confidence from that.”
“Last season we had Wolves with a level of real stand-out resource and while we have teams in the league this year with an ability to invest like Bristol City and Sheffield United, I believe this is going to be a very exciting, competitive and unpredictable season.”
Preparations for the new season are already well under way after Pressley confirmed he has made several offers for targets during the summer transfer window.
Unlike last year the Sky Blues boss is not hampered by a transfer embargo which left his young squad lacking any sort of depth.
A goalkeeper with be at the top of Pressley’s wish-list following the departure of Joe Murphy and he will also be looking to sign at least one striker to partner Callum Wilson in attack.
And Pressley has hinted he may look into the loan market but only if the right type of player is available.
“We need a lot of players. We’ve put several offers to some players and several of those offers are out there at the moment. We’re just waiting for a response.
“The players we’ve made offers to, have various options and they’re mulling over their situations at the moment.
“We have to be patient as we have to make sure we get the right players in.
“The way we play requires a particular mentality so the players we bring in has to fit the Coventry philosophy. We’re going to have a really precise recruitment drive.”
Pressley also hinted that he may have learned a few lessons from last season with several signings failing to make an impact including the likes of Mathieu Manset and Chuba Akpom.
He added: “I don’t want to get to a situation where we’re just bringing in players just fill spaces but rather a planned transfer policy.
“We want to get our targets into the squad so we start the season with players who have bedded into the club throughout pre-season.
“We’re working very hard to do that and hopefully we’ll see our efforts come off during the summer.”
2014/15 FIXTURES:
AUGUST
SAT 9 Bradford City A (3pm)
SAT 16 Sheffield United H (3pm)
TUE 19 Barnsley H (7.45pm)
SAT 23 MK Dons A (3pm)
SAT 30 Swindon Town A (3pm)
SEPTEMBER
SAT 06 Gillingham H (3pm)
SAT 13 Yeovil Town H (3pm)
TUE 16 Scunthorpe United A (7.45pm)
SAT 20 Rochdale A (3pm)
SAT 27 Preston North End H (3pm)
OCTOBER
SAT 04 Crawley Town H (3pm)
SAT 11 Crewe Alexandra A (3pm)
SAT 18 Bristol City H (3pm)
TUE 21 Oldham Athletic A (7.45pm)
SAT 25 Peterborough United H (3pm)
NOVEMBER
SAT 01 Leyton Orient A (3pm)
SAT 15 Notts County H (3pm)
SAT 22 Colchester United A (3pm)
SAT 29 Walsall H (3pm)
DECEMBER
SAT 13 Port Vale A (3pm)
SAT 20 Fleetwood Town H (3pm)
FRI 26 Doncaster Rovers A (3pm)
SUN 28 Chesterfield H (3pm)
JANUARY
SAT 03 Walsall A (3pm)
SAT 10 Swindon Town H (3pm)
SAT 17 Gillingham A (3pm)
SAT 24 Yeovil Town A (3pm)
SAT 31 Rochdale H (3pm)
FEBRUARY
SAT 07 Preston North End A (3pm)
TUE 10 Scunthorpe United H (7.45pm)
SAT 14 Bradford City H (3pm)
SAT 21 Sheffield United A (3pm)
SAT 28 MK Dons H (3pm)
MARCH
TUE 03 Barnsley A (7.45pm)
SAT 07 Port Vale H (3pm)
SAT 14 Chesterfield A (3pm)
TUE 17 Fleetwood Town A (7.45pm)
SAT 21 Doncaster Rovers H (3pm)
SAT 28 Peterborough United A (3pm)
APRIL
SAT 04 Leyton Orient H (3pm)
MON 06 Notts County A (3pm)
SAT 11 Colchester United H (3pm)
TUE 14 Oldham Athletic H (7.45pm)
SAT 18 Bristol City A (7.45pm)
SAT 25 Crewe Alexandra H (3pm)
MAY
SAT 02 Crawley Town A (3pm)
