Mark Robins: Coventry City boss relieved at transfer window being shut
- Published
Viktor Gyokeres has scored 34 goals in 95 appearances for Coventry City since arriving, initially on loan, from Swansea City in January 2021
Coventry City manager Mark Robins has expressed his relief at the transfer window being closed following a month of speculation about the possible loss of top scorer Viktor Gyokeres.
Both Robins and new City owner Doug King made it clear that 13-goal star Gyokeres was not for sale.
"I'm glad it's shut. It's an unsettling period for everyone," he told BBC CWR.
"We set out our stall that we wouldn't let anybody go. True to the owner's word, that's what happened."
Robins continued: "It's not a pleasant experience now. It's certainly changing over time.
"The press start scaremongering and most of the time it's invented. There's clickbait everywhere. It's just ridiculous. Sometimes I read things and I cannot believe what I'm reading.
"It's boring. Agents agitate to get people moves, where there was never a problem.
"You'd like to players to have their own minds and drive their own career, but, unfortunately, it doesn't work like that.
"They're young men. Some can cope with it really well. But some can be influenced by people.
"Thankfully it's gone now, until the next time, so we can all get on with it."
In the end, aside from young defender Josh Reid being loaned to Stevenage, the Sky Blues did just two other bits of transfer deadline day business.
French defender Julian Dacosta was recalled from his loan at League One side Shrewsbury Town to be sent out on a new loan to French third tier side AS Nancy - he played the last of his 24 games for the Sky Blues a year ago.
The Sky Blues also released Marcel Hilssner, cancelling his contract by mutual consent.
The German joined the Sky Blues in the summer of 2020 but did not make a competitive first team appearance.
It left Robins, who lost midfielder Callum O'Hare with a season-ending ACL knee injury just two days before the window opened, with an overall January head count of four players in - loan defenders Josh Wilson-Esbrand, Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Luke McNally, along with experienced striker Sean Maguire and three out, Hilssner, Reid and Martyn Waghorn, loaned to Huddersfield Town.
"I'm happy with what we've done," said Robins. "I'm happy we've kept everybody intact."
Coventry are 13th in the Championship table, just four points shy of a play-off place going into Friday night's derby with Carlos Corberan's West Bromwich Albion, who they beat with a late Gyokeres penalty at the CBS Arena in another evening game just before Christmas.
"They've got a good manager in Carlos, who has clearly got them very well organised," added Robins.
"We only played them in the rearranged game in December. You know they've got quality and they have added two more on deadline day in Nathaniel Chalobah and Marc Albrighton."