Doug King lays out a strategy for Mark Robins, but he acknowledges the manager of Coventry City’s future.

Coventry City news from CoventryLive: The owner of Sky Blues is questioned about what he would do if another team tried to sign Mark Robins.

Football teams that are comparable in size to Coventry City, if not larger, frequently run the risk of being victims of their own success. For instance, players whose careers take off quickly will always be targeted by managers from higher divisions or with greater financial power; hardly a season will go by without one calling.

The key to surviving such losses is to have backup plans in place or a proactive recruitment strategy ready to present viable and ready-made successors. Last summer, it was Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer. Cue the arrivals of Ellis Simms and Haji Wright, who, despite not being instant hits, have grown and flourished during the season, chipping in with a combined 29 goals to guarantee that the Sky Blues are once again in the running to qualify for the playoffs.

The procedure demonstrates that a team can advance and flourish even after losing its greatest players if you do it well, which is far from an easy feat to accomplish. But what if a manager were to leave? After Mark Robins and his team’s amazing work over the last seven years, moving the team up the divisions to within a whisker of the ultimate prize—a return to the top table of English football—City supporters would not want to consider it.

“My objective is to elevate our exceptional manager to the Premier League,” ambitious City proprietor Doug King declared this week. “That’s a goal I set for myself, and I hope we achieve it. The team played well on Saturday, going toe-to-toe with Wolves and earning a well-deserved victory.”

But King is a realistic businessman, and he is fully aware that his manager might one day be wanted. It’s amazing in and of itself that more clubs haven’t contacted us—that we are aware of, anyhow. The possibility is always present, even though there is no indication that the manager would be persuaded to do so—at least not until he returns the team to the top division.

When King was asked whether his greatest worry during a talkSPORT interview was that someone would say, “Mark Robins, what a fantastic job, let’s take him for a Premier League club.”

“I mean, in this game we know that’s always there,” he admitted. “I work with him and got a proper deal in front of him last year because I needed to be clear as we went on our journey of investment that I had the right people that I needed to take that investment and make the most of what we’re doing on the pitch.”

He added: “Obviously if things change, and things always change and everyone always survives. Look at Brighton, they have been through many managers and have succeeded with succession planning and good organisation. So look, I’m a businessman. People don’t really know what I do but the reality is I have been in business a long time and I don’t own a football club lightly, and I haven’t got to this position lightly.

We therefore take a close look at everything and work to get as much advantage as we can, and I think we’re moving in the right direction. And in the fifteen months after taking over, the team’s progress to the FA Cup semi-final and play-off final probably couldn’t have gone much better. However, I think I’m more proud of the long-term improvements we’re making to the club to make it viable, upgrade the facilities to attract our ideal clientele, and ensure future success.