Ryan said: “The final international break of 2025 is probably a good checkpoint. We’re a third of the way through the season and it’s given us a chance to look at things and assess things.
“We’ve gauged where we’re at in terms of performance. We’ve looked at overall performance compared to other teams in the league, things we’ve done exceptionally well, things we can improve on and areas where we can continue to work with the players.
“I know the most important stat in football is how many points you’ve got. That’s normal. The challenge is to win as many games as possible, starting with our next one on Saturday.
“At this moment in time, you’d say Coventry City away is the toughest test of the season. We went to Stoke when they were top of the table and we also went to Middlesbrough when they were at the top.
“When you’re 15 games in and you’re top and you’re in such good form, we understand the type of game it’s going to be. We have to go there with full belief and attack the game as much as possible.
“They have players full of confidence and they’ve had some really good results. When you win games, confidence just grows and the positive energy just carries on building. They’ve got pace up top and they can be very direct at times, but they can also switch up their game.
