Coventry City: Ricoh Arena return will signal new era, says Pressley

Pressley has been in charge at Coventry since March 2013

Coventry City manager Steven Pressley says the club's move back to the Ricoh Arena is a massive boost for everyone.

The Sky Blues will return to their former home next month after settling their long-running rent dispute with the company that runs the stadium.

"Everyone's taken a huge lift from the news, it was a great day," Pressley told BBC Coventry and Warwickshire.

"It's a chance for us to show the world what Coventry City Football Club means to the city, we're truly excited."

Coventry will play their first League One game back at the Ricoh Arena when Gillingham visit on Friday, 5 September.

The resolution of the row with Arena Coventry Limited on Thursday ended a stalemate that had seen Coventry play their home games 34 miles away from the city, at Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium.

But with the countdown to their return to the Ricoh now on, Pressley says he is determined to help fashion a much brighter future for the club.

"This has to be the start of, hopefully, a new period for the club," he said.

"We can unite and bring some real positivity to the city."

After defying a 10-point penalty at the start of last season, Pressley guided the Sky Blues away from the threat of relegation to finish 18th, four points clear of the drop zone.

Although he has reshaped his squad this summer with 10 new signings the City boss admits being back at the Ricoh Arena, where the crowds will be bigger, will make attracting better players easier.

"To encourage high-profile players, there's no doubt the Ricoh is a fantastic selling point and it can only benefit us going forward," Pressley said.

"It's up to us try and encourage the fans to continue to come back and we can only do that by playing fast, entertaining football which we'll try and do.

"The fact that the Gillingham game is live on television is a fantastic opportunity to show everybody what a great club we have."