Carlton Palmer drops opinion on whether Coventry City should sack Mark Robins | OneFootball

The Sky Blues dropped into the relegation zone after a 1-1 draw with QPR

Carlton Palmer believes that Mark Robins' position as Coventry City manager shouldn't be under any form of pressure at present, despite a poor start to the season.

The Sky Blues dropped into the Championship relegation zone on Tuesday night through a 1-1 draw away to fellow strugglers Queens Park Rangers, and pressure has started to mount on the long-serving boss as a result of yet another slow start to a campaign.

Of course, City are no strangers to being in such a position at the early stage of a season, having famously gone from bottom of the league to the Championship play-off final against Luton Town two seasons ago, before nearly emulating those exploits last season, eventually finishing in ninth place - nine points behind sixth.

The expectation levels at the CBS Arena have reached unprofound levels as a result of hefty reinvestment following the well-documented sales of Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer last summer, which is a completely new position for the club to have found itself in, having rarely come close to ending their Premier League exile of 23 years.

Carlton Palmer calls for patience at Coventry City after disappointing start

Palmer featured 30 times for the West Midlands outfit between 1999 and 2001, and the former England international-turned pundit has called for patience from the club when it comes to Robins' job security, despite understandable pressure coming from sections of the supporter-base.

"It's been a disappointing start to the season for Coventry City and Mark Robins," Palmer told FLW. "They dropped into the bottom three with a 1-1 draw away at QPR."

"I think Mark Robins would say that he'd be disappointed with the start of the season. But, I don't think his job should be under threat."

"He's worked miracles at the football club over the years," Palmer added. "He's repeatedly had to build and change the squad every season."

"It's the first time there's been some consistency at the football club with the owners, and what's gone on with the hierarchy. You've got to remember the players he's had to sell in Gus Hamer and (Viktor) Gyokeres in recent seasons," the pundit continued.

"I just think there needs to be a little bit of patience. They've got a difficult run of fixtures coming up. They've got Luton at home, Middlesbrough away, Derby at home and following that, Sunderland away."

"That's a difficult run of fixtures, and Mark Robins certainly needs a result or two to keep the fans and the hierarchy happy."

Palmer concluded: "But, I don't believe that Mark Robins' job should be under threat, given the job he's done at the football club over the past three or four seasons."

Mark Robins admission highlights Coventry City belief regarding a turn in form

Despite the pressure, which at times has boiled over in recent weeks, such as an incident following the recent 1-0 loss at Preston North End, Robins remains confident that his side can once again turn the corner as soon as possible.

“It’s (The QPR draw) a building block and with confidence, it’s temporary, and you have got to deal with situations like this because we haven’t picked up enough points and haven’t won enough football matches and that’s what we’re all in it for. Nobody feels comfortable and I think we have dropped into the bottom three now which obviously is uncomfortable. But those will change over time," he told the Coventry Telegraph.

Palmer references the turnover of the squad in recent seasons, and this summer did see a handful of players depart, but ones which were all crucial to the spine of the recent success story at the CBS, including Callum O'Hare, Kasey Palmer, Matty Godden and Liam Kelly.

However, the argument is that Coventry have a squad which, on paper, is good enough to assert themselves as play-off contenders at a bare minimum, especially considering the quality possessed by the likes of Ben Sheaf - who has struggled with injury issues so far this campaign - as well as Haji Wright and Ellis Simms, who have failed to hit the consistent performance levels which were shown in the latter stages of last season.

Of course, Robins has a lot of credit in the bank for his previous achievements, but that shouldn't be the be all and end all when it comes to the current situation, which puts owner Doug King in a difficult situation.

Whilst the Sky Blues' next four games are extremely challenging on paper, they will fancy their chances of kickstarting a run of form against Rob Edwards' Luton on Saturday, as the Hatters find themselves in a similar predicament after their relegation from the Premier League in May.