Coventry City: Ellis Simms action towards Sakamoto shows Mark Robins has built something special: View | OneFootball

There are not many teams in the EFL who can match Coventry City for team spirit, and such a quality is second to none when going for promotion.

The Sky Blues' journey from League Two to competing for a place in the Premier League over the past few years has been a truly remarkable story.

Hoping to go one better than last season and get promoted, they have extra motive to do so now.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto picked up an injury in Friday's 3-0 loss to Preston, and this week it has been confirmed he will miss the rest of the season.

The Japan international is a very busy player who puts in the hard yards, and he can be sure that his teammates will be doing exactly that for him for the rest of the season.

Simms loves Sakamoto

When Ellis Simms opened the scoring in the 5-0 win over Maidstone United in the FA Cup fifth round on Monday, he dedicated his first goal of three to Sakamoto.

It was a lovely touch to run over to the Coventry bench before grabbing his shirt and holding it up for the whole of The Coventry Building Society Arena to see.

This action was greeted with a round of applause, which tells you all you need to know about what they think of him.

During an interview with Coventry's club media after the game, Simms said: “We were in the huddle and we discussed if anyone scored, we would dedicate the goal to him.

“As you all know he suffered an injury in the last game so he might be out for a long period of time.

“He is a popular team member in our squad so I want to dedicate (my goal) to him.

“I am sure the club has not had that many Japanese players before, so for him to move country and settle the way he has is very welcoming.

“He is learning English and speaking fluently, but he will be a miss for a few weeks.

“Hopefully when he is back in, we can all be happy and smiling again.”

Simms is part of something special at Coventry City under Mark Robins

After scoring the first hat-trick of his career on Monday night, Simms would have no doubt realised how far he's come as he prepares for his 200th career appearance against West Brom on Friday night.

Loan spells with Blackpool, Hearts and Sunderland was followed by a recall to parent club Everton last January.

He wasn't quite ready for the Premier League, but being part of such a tight-knit group will help him to become a fantastic team player.

Coventry are the epitome of what togetherness through struggle can achieve. There is no better medium to demonstrate this than sport, namely football.

When Investment group Sisu Capital purchased Coventry in 2007, it stopped them going out of business. Liquidation, ground sharing and relegation to League Two followed.

But since 2017, they have returned to the Championship and were a penalty shootout away from the Premier League last May – narrowly missing out at the expense of Luton Town.

At the helm throughout has been Mark Robins – a hero in the city of Coventry.

The injury to Sakamoto is no doubt a setback, but Robins has had much bigger ones during his seven years in charge at Coventry.

Simms' celebration on Monday was far beyond simply an act of kindness. It came from a deep-rooted and unrivaled team spirit instilled into them by their manager.

Should Coventry return to the Premier League for the first time since 2001 this year, it will be one of English football's greatest ever stories.