[30 NOV 01]

When Lee Hughes signed for Coventry City he was labelled as the man who would score the goals to take us back to the Premiership.

The reputation as a free-scoring striker with West Bromwich Albion and his £5-million-plus price tag all added to the expectation that he was the key to City bouncing straight back.

Anyone who has spent more than a few seconds in his company will know that Lee is not the sort of man who would let those pressures get to him. He is a level-headed guy who enjoys the simple pleasures of life and none of them rank higher than playing football.

He is desperate to prove himself at the highest possible level and that means securing a place in the Premiership as soon as possible. He clearly felt that the Sky Blues offered him a more certain route to achieve that than his beloved Baggies, but nothing is straightforward in this world, and his time at Highfield Road so far has been a story of disappointment, at least as far as scoring goals is concerned.

The price tag and the reputation have not troubled him, but failing to score as consistently as we all know he can has become an issue that threatens his ambition of playing in the Premiership.

So what is the problem? Why has the “ginger ninja” goal-scoring machine from the Hawthorns suddenly, apparently lost the ability to find the back of the net?

Well, of course, the answer is that he hasn’t. He has been unlucky, as all strikers are from time to time, with shots mis-cued, mis-timed, just off target or brilliantly saved. All strikers hit a patch like that and, cruelly for Lee and Coventry City, his has come just as he changed clubs.

More than that, Lee has not been provided with the service that he was used to at West Brom. For all the great football they’ve played under Roland Nilsson, Coventry City’s creativity has been lacking where it really matters – in setting up chances for the strikers.

In addition, Hughes has been required to play alongside a myriad of partners, including Jay Bothroyd, Jairo Martinez and Laurent Delorge while we all wait with great anticipation for the return to fitness of Julian Joachim.

Recovered from his pre-season ankle injury, Joachim is now short of match fitness, but should be ready to play his part soon.

What will the Hughes-Joachim partnership produce? What they both hope, as do we who support them, is that it is at least half as good as the pairing of Hughes and Bob Taylor at Albion.

However, I have a feeling that Hughes-Joachim might not prove to be the answer.

The arrival of Lee Mills on loan from Portsmouth could be the key. If the experience of 31-year old Mills can be harnessed properly, he could be just the type of player for Hughes to feed off and score goals on a regular basis.

Scoring on his debut against Crystal Palace has made Mills an instant hit with the fans, and he is surely right when he says:

“If Lee (Hughes) keeps plugging away and keeps having shots there is no doubt that he will start scoring goals. I have had my problems at Portsmouth with injuries and haven't really had a chance, but the manager here has given me an opportunity.”

If Mills and Hughes turn out to be the partnership that opens up opposition defences, that loan spell could turn into a more permanent, long-term arrangement.