Conor Coventry has thanked Liam Manning for, once again, helping him develop on and off the pitch.
The midfielder played under Manning during the latter’s time within the West Ham United Academy and the pair were reunited in January when Coventry joined MK Dons on loan.
Manning has started Coventry in every league match since his arrival at Stadium MK and during an interview with Pundit Arena while away on international duty with Republic of Ireland Under-21s, the Hammers loanee was full of praise for his Head Coach.
“He’s very good,” Coventry said in his interview with Pundit Arena. “He was someone who worked very closely with me when I was about 15/16 at West Ham.
“He’s helped me massively to develop as a person and a player, and I’m thankful for him for what he has done with me since January. Personally, I can’t speak highly enough of him.”
On his time at MK Dons as a whole, Coventry added: “I think it’s a collection of things (going well) and it’s hard for me just to pin down one or two reasons.
“We’ve got a young team who want to learn and want to play a certain way. We are really brave and have a manager who will back us in doing that - he gives us the license to be brave and play how we do.
“Everyone is on the same page, pulling in the same direction and I think that’s a great starting point.”
“We’re in a great place at the moment and hopefully we can achieve something.”
While Coventry will be hoping to make another MK Dons start on Saturday, when they take on Shrewsbury Town at Stadium MK, his focus for now is on helping Republic of Ireland in their crunch UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier with Sweden.
The 22-year-old is set to captain the Boys in Green when they take to the pitch in Boras and hopes to help them secure an important three points to boost their chances of qualifying for next year’s tournament.
“I still think that we can come first. It’s a wide open group where anyone can take points.
“We’ve got to play Italy and two more home games. We’ve got Sweden (tonight), who we’ve already beaten, so why not chase first?
“It would be incredible to qualify. I see how hard all the staff work and how much it means to the boys.
“We love coming away and being together and any way we can prolong that will mean so much to us, never mind the history, which obviously, is massive as well. But just as a unit and the bond we have here, we just want to keep that going.”
Republic of Ireland Under-21s face Sweden at the Boras Arena this evening, kick-off 5pm. Read the full interview with Conor Coventry on the Pundit Arena website.
