FOOTBALL – Adi Viveash would not swap Coventry City experience ‘for the world’ ahead of facing former club
ADI Viveash would not swap his time at Coventry City ‘for the world’ ahead of facing his former club for the first time as interim Middlesbrough boss.
Viveash spent seven years at the Sky Blues as assistant manager to Mark Robins before suddenly departing the club in July 2024.
He and Robins masterminded Coventry’s rise from League Two to the brink of the Premier League and also reached an FA Cup semi-final.
Viveash returned to work with Boro in the summer as part of Rob Edwards’ coaching staff.
And he became interim boss at the Riverside Stadium earlier this month after Edwards departed for the Premier League’s bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The 56-year-old will manage Boro for the third and final time as interim boss against the Sky Blues.
Boro have confirmed the appointment of Kim Hellberg as the club’s new head coach with the Swede to take charge of the side following the top-of-the-table clash with Coventry.
Viveash will remain part of Hellberg’s backroom staff and guided Boro to a win against Birmingham City before being held by Oxford United last time out in his two games in charge.
And Viveash reflected fondly on his time with the Sky Blues and admits the club still means a huge amount to him.
Viveash said: “It’s a very interesting sub-plot. I looked out for the [Coventry] games of course.
“I met my fiancé at the club, that’s the biggest thing that came out of that. She’s a Coventry lady.
“Her family are all Coventry supporters so there’s a bit of stick flying around about this game.
“It’s a club that means a tremendous amount to me. I worked as part of a group of staff and players that were tremendously successful.
“We came from the doldrums of nearly not having a football club, fans running on the pitch and attacking players in League Two.
“The club were at a pretty low ebb but that seven years – I wouldn’t swap it for the world.
“It was amazing. I had some great times and a wonderful fanbase which they are.
“So many happy memories and so many really special times. A lot of big games, three Wembley appearances.
“Everybody who worked in that period should be tremendously proud of the work.
“It’s nice to see them doing really well. I wish the club nothing but the best apart from this game and February 16.”
Coventry lead Boro by seven points at the top of the Championship table following a come-from-behind win against 10-man West Bromwich Albion last weekend.
And Viveash believes Coventry currently pose the biggest challenge to every other side in the division.
Viveash added: “You have to be very diligent in terms of your structure and the way you work.
“Your gameplan has to be spot on. This is the most talented team [Coventry] at the moment coming into town.
“We’re not just here to take part in the game. It’s about us and being the best version of ourselves.
“Of course we know the threats, there’s many. We are one of the teams in this division that can beat any other team on their day.
“Frank’s done a fantastic job, he was an outstanding footballer when I worked at Chelsea.
“Frank and his team have done an incredible job, they’ve taken it on again, it’ll be great to see a lot of the players I’ve worked with.
“Coventry is the biggest challenge [for everyone] at the moment but we’ve got to try and make this their biggest challenge.”
Coventry travel to Middlesbrough on Tuesday, November 25 with kick-off at 7.45pm at the Riverside.
