Sunderland boss backs ‘great’ player to succeed at Coventry City
Coventry City news from CoventryLive as Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray insists his former loan star will be a success with the Sky Blues
Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray has backed his former loan striker Ellis Simms to score goals for Coventry City.
The Everton graduate had a productive half season spell at the Stadium of Light this time last year, scoring seven goals in 14 Championship starts and three substitute appearances for the Black Cats before being recalled to Goodison Park just as he was getting going amid the Premier League club’s battle for top flight survival.
A summer move to the CBS Arena sparked much excitement among Sky Blues fans as Mark Robins shelled out an initial £3.5million on the 22-year-old who was drafted in to help fill Viktor Gyokeres’s boots. But the bustling centre-forward is taking time to get going in a City shirt and yet to find the back of the net in the division despite a promising pre-season when he bagged four goals.
Robins recalled Simms to the starting line-up to face his former club on Saturday when the one chance that fell his way was denied by the goalkeeper
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Asked if he thinks the striker will be a big player in the division, Mowbray told CoventryLive after the weekend’s goalless draw: “I had Ellis from September to January and then he went back to Everton. He scored seven really important goals for me.
“I think he is great. What he does is work his socks off for every game and runs the channels. I think he has still got a lot to learn, he is still a young boy, but he will give you everything every game and chase everything down and use that physicality and he will score goals for you.
“Whether he will score 25 is another question but he will bring real honesty to the position and integrity. I had him for four months. I didn’t know him that well but some of his seven goals were pretty important for us.
“As a striker he gets into positions. He is a young player who needs to grow his career and has got the right coach working with him, I’m sure.”
Simms made way for Haji Wright with just over 20 minutes to go against the Black Cats when the USA international almost snatched a winner in a lively contribution from the bench.
Explaining his selection decision to pick Simms over Wright to face Sunderland, Coventry manager Mark Robins said: “Ellis has been brilliant in training this week. He’s been really good. His levels have gone up again, which is great to see because it’s obvious that he hadn’t done a great deal before he came here and he’s obviously playing catch-up.
“But I need them all to be bubbling to get close to top level, and that’s only going to come with games and a bit of time, but I think he was better, and he has been better this week.”
He added: “He had a chance when he came inside and you are thinking he might just take that extra touch and then hit it.”
Asked if he fancied him to do well against his former loan club, Robins said: “Well it’s not just that because I look at the performances in training that I see every day. And it was the right call to start him in this game today. I also have to think about what comes next and I am going to need them. When I need him and call upon him and expect him to do a job it’s not going to happen if he’s not played.”
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