Coventry manager Mark Robins said after Saturday’s game it ‘irked him’ that people were talking about the WhatsApps messages seemingly shared between him and the club’s Head of Recruitment Dean Austin a few days earlier.

During Watford’s midweek game with Swansea, Austin – who was sat in the stands – seemed to be exchanging messages with Robins which were none too complimentary about Watford or former head coach Valerien Ismael.

While what they said now appears to be rather prescient, that the comments came into the public domain may have contributed to what Robins himself described as “a little bit of needle in the game”.

When I asked him, he said: “I don’t know. No idea. But ultimately what a load of rubbish.

“The fact that people are talking about that, it irks me to be honest with you.

“If that’s news, then it’s a sad reflection.

“I don’t know, you’d have to ask them.”

Robins was very honest in his assessment of the game, admitting that shortly before his side drew level in the first-half he had been considering making substitutions.

“I thought we were poor in the first half. They played well in the second half the other night and carried that on,” he admitted.

“They have some really talented individuals who have a lot of pace and power, and they can hurt you. Thankfully they didn’t.

“There were too many turnovers in possession from both sides.

“There was a little bit of needle in the game. It just looked like one of those games where you’ve got to fight and scrap for anything out of it.

“We didn’t really have enough of the ball to create anything and then they scored a goal out of nothing – a long throw where we didn’t really compete for it.

“We had a little bit of a foothold, Josh Eccles goes round the keeper who brings him down for a penalty and it brings us a bit of a lifeline.

“I was contemplating making changes before that, before half-time. There were too many times when they had the two v ones down our right in the first half.

“The second half followed a similar pattern, although it was a little bit of basketball at times: you have it, we have it.

“Thankfully the best bit of play in the game was where we kept the ball, slid it across to Haji Wright and he’s got time to pick his spot.

“Really from then on there was nothing in it, just see the game out.”