'A lot to thank them for' - Coventry City boss makes Birmingham City admission

Coventry City say they are "grateful" for the help Birmingham City gave them when they were without a home ground for two years.

The Sky Blues had to call St. Andrew's their home for the two seasons preceding this one before agreeing a new 10-year groundshare agreement with the owners of the CBS Arena, the Wasps Group. Premiership Rugby outfit Wasps RFC also play at the ground.

Mark Robins' men have reaped the benefits of moving back to Coventry this season, embarking on an unlikely push to make the play-offs among richer clubs with stronger squads. They are currently six points outside the top six with five games remaining.

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While they are glad to once again reside in their own city, Coventry City are conscious that things could have gone so differently for the club if they didn't have the help of Birmingham City. Defender Dominic Hyam thanked the club ahead of this Friday's encounter.

“We know it’s going to be a completely different game and we know both sets of fans are going to be up for it, it’s going to be a good game," Hyam told CoventryLive .

“We’ve got a lot to thank Birmingham for, the two years we had at St. Andrew’s. It might’ve been a different situation for Coventry if they hadn’t helped us out with that.

“It’s another game to look forward to and we’ve put together a game plan to try and get the win.”

Robins echoed those sentiments in his pre-match comments, calling St. Andrew's a "good home". He was clear, however, that they would not be granting Blues any favours on the field of play.

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“It was a good home for us.” the City boss said. “I’ve said on many occasions we were grateful to Birmingham City for helping us over that period and we’re looking forward to going back

“There will be no favours asked for or given from either side and this will be a tough game and one we’re really looking forward to.”

Both sides have near identical form guides heading into this one; their last five games has seen them win once, draw twice and lose twice. The last five encounters between the two teams in all competitions have ended in a draw in normal time.