Mark Robins believes that social media remarks can have a negative effect on footballers.
Mark Robins admits social media can be a “really nasty place” as his struggling Coventry City side prepares to face Leeds United. Following the Sky Blues’ dismal start to the season, the manager has faced criticism from various quarters.
City are wallowing in the Championship’s bottom tiers, having collected only five points from their first six matches. Robins believes that social media remarks, particularly those on X, formerly known as Twitter, can have a negative impact on athletes.
When asked about social media during his pre-match press conference and whether it’s a place to avoid, Robins replied: “I don’t participate in it and I don’t care. I don’t care at all. People may say whatever they want about individuals, myself, or anything else since these are people who would say nothing if they stood in front of you.
“And I believe it can be a very unpleasant place. And I’m not sure why people do that or what they get out of it. What difference does it make whether others compliment me? Simply be yourself, be a kind person, go about your business, and try to do the right thing; that is all we are trying to do. We attempt to amuse people and do our best every day.
Last season, the Sky Blues took four points from United. Their 2-1 home win over the Whites in April dashed Daniel Farke’s team’s chances of automatic promotion.
“They [Leeds] have a lot of good players, and even though they’ve sold some for a lot of money, they’ve replaced them pretty well,” added Robins, who disclosed midfielder Jamie Allen will miss eight to ten weeks with a knee injury. “They’re incredibly well managed, and Daniel Farke has done a great job. They were very unlucky not to go up last season, as we were the season before, and they’ll be trying to do so this season.
“The pressure at Leeds United is different than it is at Coventry City; while we both desire the same goal, I believe Daniel’s demands are stronger than mine here.
“It’s an interesting game that we’re looking forward to, and maybe we’ll be able to compete better than we did last season; even though it was a draw, we didn’t really participate in the game from an offensive standpoint. We want to try to pick up three points at a difficult location.”
United sold several first-team players this summer after failing to win an immediate return to the Premier League. Archie Gray, Glen Kamara, Crysencio Summerville, and Georginio Rutter all left as Farke restructured his roster. Robins spoke of the battle City will face tomorrow afternoon: “There is no doubt that Leeds have exceptionally good players. They are on the front foot and want to press, and the spaces they occupy are extremely intelligent, as are their players.
“They’ve lost a few players, but they still have a lot of talent and pose a threat. We will need to be at our best again, but I want us to participate fully in the game if possible, which is something we will strive for. When we have the ball, we want to use it more effectively than we did last season.”
