Ben Sheaf reacted to last night’s 2-0 defeat at home to Hull City in the SkyBet Championship.
Ryan Longman struck just before half an hour to add to Richard Smallwood’s opener on four minutes to claim the victory for the visitors, and Sheaf looked back on the Sky Blues’ performance.
“We didn’t really perform as we wanted to, we probably had enough chances to win the game but to go down 2-0 early on to poor goals was disappointing,” Sheaf reflected.
“You want to score early but you don’t want to concede early. It was poor to concede the way that we did, it was too many loose passes and we couldn’t get much momentum in the game.
“It was just a lot of short passes which went astray, and if we tidy that up then we probably create even more chances. On another day we do that and blow teams away, but it just wasn’t clicking.
“We had a lot of the ball, they sat quite deep so it was difficult to get Viktor [Gyökeres] and Godden in behind, but we still created chances.”
Last night’s contest also saw Sheaf play at the heart of the defence, moving away from his usual spot in midfield. The 24-year-old highlighted his desire to play wherever needed for the Sky Blues.
“I just want to be on the pitch, wherever I’m playing, I love football. I saw a lot of the ball tonight and I just do the best job I can, wherever I’m put.
“I enjoyed it, like I said, I saw a lot of the ball and that’s what I want to do, I want to get on the ball and progress the ball forwards. I thought I did alright, but it’s a 2-0 loss at the end of the day so it’s disappointing.”
Sheaf also commented on the Sky Blues’ recent disruptions due to coronavirus, mentioning the hard work put in by all to ensure that preparation runs as smoothly as possible.
“It’s not ideal, it has felt a bit strange if I’m honest, but we still prepared the best that we could.
“All of the messages are still coming from the gaffer and the coaching staff, so we did our homework and prepared for the game like we would any other. But it is what it is, we’ve just got to get on with it and bounce back on Saturday.”
Next up for the Sky Blues is a visit to Derby County on Saturday, and Sheaf highlighted the importance of every upcoming game as the season progresses.
“We’ll play teams in and around us, so a lot of them will be like six-pointers. We’re just taking things game-by-game and seeing where that takes us, but we’ve got to believe.
“Every game in the Championship is a difficult game, every team is fighting for something and Derby will be the same. They’re a good side and they gave us a tough game at home so were expecting a tough one away and they’ll be fighting for their lives, so it’ll be a tough one.”