Coventry one game from Prem despite starting season with unfit pitch ruined by rugby

The Premier League is certain to embrace one underdog newcomer in the coming campaign - but Coventry City will feel their route back to England's peak has been particularly treacherous.

And 'treacherous' just about sums up the state of their pitch at the start of this season, which led to three home games being rescheduled until later in the season. Former Premiership rugby team Wasps were at the time landlords of the Coventry Building Society Arena, which hosted Sevens matches during the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The field's state of disrepair had knock-on effects in that it disrupted Coventry's cashflow, which in turn meant the club had to ask for extensions to deadlines on money they owed. The Sky Blues were served a suspended five-point deduction and placed under a transfer embargo as a result, sitting among the Championship's relegation places at the start of November.

But manager Mark Robins has pulled off a comeback for the ages to put his side within one win of a Premier League return. Coventry were relegated from the top flight in 2001 and were playing in League Two as recently as 2018, hoping to seal a third promotion in the space of five years.

Gustavo Hamer's finish on Wednesday evening was all that separated the Sky Blues from play-off semi-final foes Middlesbrough after two legs. They'll now face Luton Town at Wembley on May 29 in a reunion between two teams that were fourth-tier rivals just five years ago.

Mike Ashley's Frasers Group now owns the Coventry Building Society Arena after Wasps entered administration in October. That clarity over the formerly shared facilities has coincided with a rich rise in results, with Robins' side finishing fifth overall and now heading to Wembley.

"Our supporters will know that we were left with a pitch at the Arena that was unsafe, dangerous and unplayable for our first games of the season, following the broken promises of a new pitch by Wasps, and the extensive usage at the Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens," said club chief executive Dave Boddy.

"The debacle they caused - and the cashflow problems, reputational damage and inconvenience they created for the football club, as well as impacting upon our sporting performance and our supporters - should have been an indication to us all of the financial plight they were facing."

Luton came from behind to beat Sunderland 3-2 on aggregate in the other play-off semi, ensuring England's elite will have an unlikely underdog among its order next term. A move back into the Premier League should mean more than enough available funds to keep Coventry's pitch in peak condition, as well as signalling Ashley's return to the top flight.