Source: FOOTYMAD
McSheffrey to mentor City youngsters
Sheffers now the senior pro in the team. Coventry City striker Gary McSheffrey, who once held the record for being the youngest player to play in the Premiership, will celebrate his 29th birthday on August 13th, the day Coventry travel to Birmingham City. He is now one of the more senior players in Andy Thorn's squad and with so many young, academy players coming into contention for places in the senior side, he is becoming a mentor. McSheffrey was sold to Birmingham City in 2004 for about £4m to ease the financial burden on the club, but he returned to his hometown team a year ago and it is intention to mentor the young players in the team and draw on his 300 plus games to help pass on his skills to the next generation. McSheffrey said, “I’m one of the oldest players in the team now and we’ve got a big responsibility. We’ve got a small squad so a lot of youngsters will get their chance; there seems to be three or four coming through to join the likes of Jordan Clarke and Nathan Cameron which is a great credit to the Academy." “Gael Bigirimana is a tidy little player who made his debut at the Ricoh on Saturday and can go home feeling very proud and Cyrus Christie has had a great pre-season, he gets down that flank really well and he can be a big asset for us, but we need our experienced players to step up to the plate; we’ve got to perform better on the ball, lead by example and give the new lads some confidence.”
