Conor Coventry: I'm a more rounded footballer at Charlton

Even moaners have had to concede that Conor Coventry puts in s a shift and it is therefore no surprise that he has been selected for a feature interview by The Athletic (the online publication from the New York Times stable.

Conor Coventry is open, engaging and affable, but one question from The Athletic prompts the former West Ham United youth product to pause for thought.

It is 14 months since the midfielder swapped West Ham for League One Charlton Athletic in search of opportunities.  He has become a lynchpin in Nathan Jones’ promotion-chasing team,, but emotions are still raw for the 25-year-old when it comes to his former club.

“I find it weird watching West Ham,” Coventry tells The Athletic. “I haven’t been back to the London Stadium since leaving. If I went back, I can picture the lads giving me stick and telling me to let it go.

Coventry made 10 first-team appearances for West Ham, but they were sporadic. From a debut in September 2018 against Macclesfield Town, then of League Two, in the Carabao Cup, Coventry was never given a regular run of games.

Charlton first showed interest around November and it just felt right.  Even the new start at Charlton has had difficulties. He was signed by Michael Appleton on January 12 — but within 12 days the manager had been sacked and replaced by Jones, with Charlton in relegation trouble.

“It was a difficult time leaving West Ham and then the change at Charlton. When the gaffer (Jones) arrived, we spoke when he took over about where I could improve and what he liked about me.

“I’m a more well-rounded footballer now, but there’s still more to come. I’ve overcome disappointments and not playing consistently in my career. But this is the best I’ve felt and I needed this stability.

This season, Coventry and Charlton, who have been in League One for five years, have been transformed. He has started 42 of their 44 league games and impressed in his holding midfield role as Jones has built a team with a play-off place secured. In November, his form earned a senior call-up for the Republic of Ireland squad for the Nations League game against England.

“Last summer, I arrived for pre-season with the intention of being in the team, so it’s great to feature heavily in the push for promotion — the gaffer has shown great faith in me,” Coventry says.

“Maybe people from the outside thought we wouldn’t be around it. But we all had confidence we would compete and here we are now. I believe the club can return back to where it belongs (the Premier League, where they have not played since 2006-07).

“We’ve seen it with recent performances from the team. The club is back on a rise and hopefully we can end the season on a high. I look back positively on my year here.”