Mark Robins explains why he isn’t surprised by Derby County’s on-field success ahead of Coventry clash

Coventry City manager has cited Derby County academy’s success as a major reason why he isn’t shocked at their upcoming opponents’ on-field joy this season, speaking to Coventry Live ahead of this afternoon’s meeting between the two sides.

The Rams have endured considerable off-field turmoil, something that has directly affected Wayne Rooney and his side with the club restricted in what they were able to do in terms of bringing players in during the summer, even being unable to bring in a single player in January.

The latter was due to the fact they are still in the depths of administration with a preferred bidder yet to be named, continuing uncertainty at Pride Park and increasing worry for those out of contract at the end of this term.

Nonetheless, they have put up a brave fight when they have crossed the white line this season, taking themselves to within six points of safety despite suffering a 21-point deduction, a total that looked set to relegate them to the third tier.

Despite this, they are still in the race with eight league games left of 2021/22 and the likes of Curtis Davies and Tom Lawrence have to be commended for this as two of the squad’s most senior players, stepping up to the plate and leading what is a very inexperienced squad.

However, some of the younger players have also played a big part in the Rams’ success in Luke Plange and Festy Ebosele. And Coventry boss Robins has identified the academy’s success as to why he isn’t surprised at their progress.

He said: “They ask questions of you, they make it difficult for you, they’ve got good pace, some really good young players.

“Like I said, their academy has been brilliantly run by Darren Wassall and his staff. It’s no surprise at all (to see them