Thursday 5 March 2015 14:15, UK
Former Coventry City defender Phill Babb believes Tony Mowbray is the right man to revive his old club’s fortunes.
Mowbray was unveiled as Coventry’s new boss on Tuesday, replacing Steven Pressley who left the club after a poor run of results saw them win just one match in eight.
And Babb, who made 77 appearances for the Sky Blues during the early nineties, believes former West Brom, Celtic and Middlesbrough manager Mowbray can succeed in taking Coventry forward.
"I think Coventry have moved quickly in appointing Tony who has got a good pedigree,” Babb told Sky Sports.
“Clearly the club’s form has not improved despite their return to the Ricoh Arena. Being tenants (at Northampton Town last season) then going back to the Ricoh has been a massive PR coup I suppose, but ultimately results haven’t helped.
“We always talk about a new manager having an impact straightaway and hopefully Tony can have that. Hopefully, the players will give another 30 or 40 per cent in their performance and he might get a couple of wins straight off the bat to help them climb up the table a little bit.
“Then it’s about a long-term project to turn Coventry into a promotion-chasing side, but as long as the club is stable and alive that is the most important thing.”
A series of commanding displays for Coventry during his playing days saw Babb earn a £3.6m move to Liverpool in 1994 in a then British record transfer deal for a defender.
“I loved playing for Coventry during my time there,” the former Sporting Lisbon and Sunderland centre-back said.
“We had a fantastic side at the time – Peter Ndlovu, Roy Wegerle, Micky Quinn, John Williams, along with some of the older lads that were still there like Lloyd McGrath, Micky Gynn, Steve Ogrizivic.
“They were a great bunch of players and it was a fantastic education for me and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.”
