Source: FOOTYMAD
More to come from McSheffrey
Bothroyd expects more for striker Aidy Boothroyd is pleased with the progress Gary McSheffrey has made since he returned to his hometown club from Birmingham City. It took a while for McSheffrey to find the scoring ability that made him a Sky Blue hero during his first spell at the club, but now he has scored three goals in his last four outings and on his way to recapturing the form that saw him net 17 goals in his last season for Coventry and another 17 goals in his first season at Birmingham. Boothroyd explained, "That’s what I brought Gary back for. I saw a guy that has enormous potential and hasn’t quite fulfilled it yet, someone who needs to be playing and enjoying his football.” Boothroyd likes McSheffrey's versatility. Not only is he a capable striker, he can also provide scoring opportunities from his wing play and he can defend when the need arises. “He is scoring goals and doing what I want him to do without the ball, more than anything else, because that was a part of his game I thought he could improve," said Boothroyd. “Perhaps the last time he scored so many goals people were less demanding of the other side to his game but I won’t have that and he knows that, and that’s why I think he is in such good form at the minute because he is creating and scoring for us and also putting in a defensive shift for us." “I think he can be better than the player that he was because he’s older and more experienced now with a couple of promotions under his belt so he knows what it takes to win and Gary McSheffrey in a winning Coventry team is what everybody wants to see because if he’s on the pitch there’s always a chance he’ll score a goal or make a goal so I think we’ve got a real bargain in getting him back. He’s a terrific player, we all know that.” An ebullient McSheffrey is pleased with his recent form, but he admits he can be a slow starter, sometimes taking half a dozen games at the start of a season before he gets fully into his stride. “I still think there’s a lot more to come," he opined. “I think it always takes me six or seven games to get fully match fit. I was out of the team for about a month which put a hold on that but I feel that playing the last three is helping me get back to that match fitness and sharpness where I need to be." “I was disappointed not to have scored more against Barnsley given the chances we had but beggars can’t be choosers. It was nice to get my goal against Cardiff and again on Saturday but even better that we held on and got the win against Barnsley and I am buzzing for Carl Baker and Jordan Clarke who went on and got goals as well, which was nice." “We should have gone in two or three nil at half time and sometimes you can get punished in games like that, so we are just thankful that we held on and weathered the storm they threw at us and then got a couple of late goals because we should have sealed the game up in the first half really.” Coventry City have five joint top scorers, all with three goals each and the 28 year old McSheffrey is one of them. Gunnarsson, Turner, Platt and Jutkiewicz being the others “We are mixing it up well," Said McSheffrey. “We have got healthy competition and it is good to see midfielders getting goals as well." “We will take six points from the last three games because I said the other night that a lot of teams would be happy to take a draw against Ipswich and Cardiff so we are a point better off than winning one and drawing two, so we will take six out of nine, definitely. I didn’t realise we had gone up to sixth straight after Saturday’s game but that gives us a good platform to build on as we look ahead to two big games against two big Yorkshire clubs." " Sheff U away is always difficult and I am sure Leeds will attract a big crowd. They will bring 5 to 6,000 like they always do and these are the sorts of games everyone wants to be involved in. We will relish playing them and hopefully we can win both games.”