Frank Onyeka has urged Coventry City to quickly move on from their defeat to Southampton and focus on their next Championship fixture against Swansea City as they continue their push for promotion to the Premier League.
The Nigerian midfielder, who joined Coventry during the January transfer window, had previously helped the club secure six consecutive victories before the run was halted by Southampton’s 2–1 win.
Speaking after the match in an interview with the BBC, Onyeka admitted the defeat was disappointing but stressed the importance of focusing on the next challenge.
“We don’t need to dwell on it for too long. We look forward to Swansea and we take the result today and look forward to Swansea,” Onyeka said.
“When we scored the penalty, we felt it was our moment, but even after that we still had chances to equalise. It’s just disappointing, but we don’t need to dwell on this for so long.”
The midfielder acknowledged that Coventry created several opportunities but failed to convert them.
“It was a good game on both sides but unfortunately we could not get the win. We had lots of chances which obviously did not go in. It is one of those days where things might not go well for us.”
He added that the team must quickly recover and prepare for the next match.
“Every player does not want a defeat, but today is one of those days. We need to accept it, pick ourselves up and move forward to the next game.”
Coventry remain determined to bounce back when they face Swansea as they continue their fight for promotion to England’s top flight.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
