[25 JUL 01]

Interviewed on the radio immediately after Coventry City’s relegation from the Premiership was confirmed, Sky Blues Chairman Bryan Richardson said “next season could be fun”.

His comments were not entirely well received by the City faithful who were experiencing the whole range of emotions, not least because the final nail had been driven home by the dreaded Villa.

Now that the club’s first season in the First Division of the Nationwide League is almost here, you might just start to understand what he meant.

The arrivals of Julian Joachim and Phil Masinga, the return of Roland Nilsson and a fit-again Tomas Gustaffson (now to be known, apparently, as Antonelius!), John Hartson’s fresh commitment to the club and his appointment as captain, and the decision of Carlton Palmer to make a fresh start under Gordon Strachan, have all contributed to a positive mood in the training camp.

Yes, we have said goodbye to Moustapha Hadji, Craig Bellamy and John Aloisi, Magnus Hedman looks likely to follow and Jairo Martinez may yet move permanently after an initial loan to Lucerne.

The saddest farewell of all must be Steve Froggatt. There is no nicer guy in football, or indeed in many other walks of life. After fighting back from serious, potentially fatal, illness to relaunch his career at Highfield Road and win, on merit, a place in the England squad it was a particularly vicious turn of events that has led to him having to retire.

Those of us who witnessed the tackle by Nicky Summerbee, then with Sunderland, that has resulted in Froggatt having to retire will forget it easily. Steve Froggatt will live with it forever, knowing that had he not been injured that day 18 months ago, he might well have played for England within a few days and could easily have solved the national left-side problem for quite some time.

As it is, he is left to contemplate what life holds in store after football, while still considering the possibility of legal action against Summerbee.

Steve, however, is one of those people who will always try to smile in the face of adversity and that, I am sure, is what Bryan Richardson was trying to do when he said that the season ahead “could be fun”.

And he could be oh, so right, if the pre-season optimism engendered by Gordon Strachan and his players bears fruit at Stockport, Grimsby and those other new locations on the schedule of the travelling Sky Blue Army.

Can City bounce straight back? Well, based on my observations of matches in the First Division at the end of last season, including two featuring sides that made the play-offs, they have every chance.

There are two, maybe three, good sides in this Division, the rest are worse than awful. Coventry City should certainly be one of the top three if they play to their potential and if Gordon can bring in the goal-scoring midfield player he says he needs.

Be prepared for the announcement of a loan signing from the Premiership that will intrigue and entice you, because I understand that is what the club is aiming to do to solve that midfield problem.

Fun? Yes, I think it will be. Ready for it? Well, I don’t know about you but I need a week on the beach first.