"We worked to change things quickly, to make the players happy and to keep them smiling," said Nilsson, explaining his Midas touch in the Midlands. From easy-beats to hard-to-beats, they have not conceded a goal in five games. "Yes, that's nice," said the master of understatement.How Strachan, having seen Southampton concede five goals this week, must rue his fate.On yesterday's evidence, when a free-kick and a penalty secured their win, Coventry have the character and the ability to secure an automatic return to the Premiership.What has he done that Strachan did not? "We changed the training, we made it more fun and a bit sharper But is not all down to me It's the coaching staff We all had to be on the same wavelength to make the changes. There was a lot of pressure before and it was just too much for the players to handle..." Like the England players and Eriksson, the Sky Blues boys love this man's management style.Tactically, Coventry remain a solid 4-4-2. Veteran Andy Goram was in goal for injured Magnus Hedman, and his steadyingpresence spread a winning belief that carried his team through awkward moments, when Terry Yorath's ragbag of selfless workers threatened to overwhelm."When I took over, I didn't anticipate that we would be top so quickly," said Nilsson.

"I knew we had a good side, but we just could not win under Gordon. We needed self-confidence and team spirit and some luck."Coventry were fortunate yesterday when David Thompson earned a free-kick after being brought down by Steve Haslam. From 25 yards, Youssef Safri sent the ball in a perfect arc past Kevin Pressman for his first club goal.This should have opened the floodgates, but Wednesday, under caretaker manager Yorath, did not buckle. Indeed, they played some neat and tidy stuff both before and following Coventry's second goal, a penalty thundered in by Lee Hughes after 62 minutes, when Laurent Delorge was fouled by Derek Geary.

It was Hughes' fourth goal this season, but, with more accuracy with his chances, might have been his fourth of the game "It will come for him," said Nilsson, purring confidently. "He will start scoring goals." And, then, Coventry will really put a smile on their Swedish manager's serious face.Coventry City 2 Sheffield Wednesday 0Safri 39, Hughes pen 64Half-time: 1-0 Attendance: 17,381. A week in which Jim Jefferies emerged as favourite to be next through the managerial revolving doors ended well for him ­ but only just, after an Eoin Jess hat-trick seemed to have done wonders for his job security only for Bradford's defensive frailties to surface again and almost let a beaten Watford off the hook. A week in which Jim Jefferies emerged as favourite to be next through the managerial revolving doors ended well for him ­ but only just, after an Eoin Jess hat-trick seemed to have done wonders for his job security only for Bradford's defensive frailties to surface again and almost let a beaten Watford off the hook. The Bantams twice led by three goals, an advantage they held until the 76th minute, when Tommy Smith pulled two of them back within three minutes to set up a nail-biting finish.

Had Bradford failed to hang on, Jefferies' cards might have been waiting for him in the dressing room. Instead, it was Watford defender Patrick Blondeau's day which ended badly, when he was sent off in injury time for a second bookable offence.Jefferies said: "We earned it the hard way. The lack of confidence because we have been leaking goals seemed to creep back into the team I can do the job here, provided I am given the chance. This is such a tight division that we could soon be in the top six.''The Watford manager, Gianluca Vialli, said: "We came alive in the last 35 minutes.