'I still feel guilty' - Chris Kirkland reacts to Coventry City promotion | OneFootball

Coventry City are celebrating their return to the Premier League, but former goalkeeper Chris Kirkland still feels guilty about how they went down.

Former Coventry City goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has spoken of his 'guilt', as the Sky Blues prepare for a return to the Premier League following an absence of 25 years.

With three draws from their last three games, it ended up slowing to a bit of a crawl, but Coventry City have finally secured their return to the Premier League following an absence of 25 years.

A Bobby Thomas goal in their Friday night fixture at Blackburn Rovers was enough to secure the point that the Sky Blues needed to secure promotion with three games to spare.

But as Coventry fans celebrate their well-deserved return to the top-flight, the goalkeeper who was playing for the team when they dropped from the top-flight has spoken of the guilt that he feels for the role that he played for their 2001 relegation from the Premier League.

Chris Kirkland "guilty" about Coventry City's 2001 Premier League relegation

Posting to the social media platform X, the former Coventry City goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has spoken about his delight at his former club winning promotion back to the Premier League, but also about his guilt at them falling from that level in the first place.

"I still feel guilty for 2001 relegation with @Coventry_City but thank god they are back in the promise land", he said, adding, "well done Sky Blues and the fans it’s been a long 25 years."

Kirkland started his senior professional career at the club's former home, Highfield Road, in 1998 after having had an unsuccessful trial with Blackburn Rovers. He made his Premier League debut for the Sky Blues in a 2-1 win against Spurs in October 2000.

Kirkland has no reason to feel guilty about Coventry's 2001 relegation

Chris Kirkland has no reason to feel guilty about his role in Coventry City's 2001 relegation from the Premier League. He'd made his full debut for them in a League Cup match against Tranmere Rovers in September 1999, and just over a year later he graduated to a first-team place.

Coventry City at that time had been playing in the top-flight for 34 years, an unbroken run which had lasted since their 1967 promotion to what was then known as the First Division. They had several very close shaves with relegation over those years, but won the FA Cup in 1987, with their highest finishing position being 6th in 1970.

For all the problems that Coventry City had throughout the 2000-01 season, Kirkland wasn't one of them. Although his first proper season in goal for the Sky Blues ended in relegation - made 24 Premier League appearances for them that season - he made his debut for the England under-21s, and once relegation was confirmed, he was sold to Liverpool for £6 million, a UK record transfer fee for a goalkeeper at that time, despite being only 20 years old.

Kirkland's senior professional career was a baptism of fire, in a team which struggled all season. If anything, it demonstrates his strength of character to have come through such a season and earn such a big money move. And that he was celebrating their promotion with the other Sky Blues fans demonstrates that he's never lost that connection to the club at which he started his senior professional career.