'Robins brought glorious light to Coventry' - Prutton

Former Coventry City manager Mark RobinsImage source, Rex Features
Image caption,

Mark Robins led Coventry from League Two to the Championship during his time in charge

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Mark Robins "outperformed budget and expectations" throughout his time as Coventry City boss, says former midfielder David Prutton.

Robins was sacked by the Sky Blues on Thursday after more than seven-and-a-half years in charge during this second spell at the club.

Prutton, 43, had a brief spell on loan with Coventry City in 2014 and now works as a pundit for Sky Sports.

"When I played for Coventry they were dark days so what Mark Robins gave back to that football club was just glorious light and illumination," Prutton told BBC CWR.

"He's got the same demeanour win, lose or draw which enables a team to climb the mountains they did."

Robins leaves Coventry with a near 41% win ratio and two victories from their past three games.

"The fact he outperformed budget and expectations year on year is another feather in his cap," added Prutton.

"He had a player under his tutelage in Viktor Gyokeres who scored a hat-trick against Manchester City the other night. He bought him for about £1m and sold him for £24m so he's ticked so many boxes, on the pitch for the fans to watch, enjoy and love and off the pitch for the bean counters who want to make the football club a viable financial asset.

"We can all get into metrics and statistics but if anyone classes Mark Robins' tenure as a failure I would say that suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of what football means to people who love the game and are passionate about their club."