Just for a second , Tony Mowbray allowed himself to drift off into a brighter future before crashing back to the remorseless reality of Coventry City ’ s present . ‘ I look to the summer time and how we are going to build a team that is a Coventry City team , ’ the new manager began . ‘ But that ’ s for another day . The immediate concern is just to win some matches. ’ Tony Mowbray issues instructions from the touchline during his first game in charge of Coventry . Coventry 's Jim O'Brien opens the scoring for the home side in just the fourth minute of the match . For Mowbray , who arrived at the club last week , Coventry City is a club of heritage and romance . It is Keith Houchen ’ s diving header crashing into the Wembley net in 1987 , it is Jimmy Hill leading the ‘ Sky Blue Revolution ’ , it is of a team that was a staple of the top division for 34 years . He has vowed to take them back there , to their ‘ rightful place ’ . The reality is very different . Today , Hill ’ s bronze statue stands outside a superstore for the rugby club Wasps , whose amber and black logo looms over the main entrance . They own the place ; Coventry City are strangers in their own home , seeking to get out in the next few years . The Ricoh Arena is magnificent , ready for the top flight . But few thought that would mean Premiership rugby union rather than Premier League football . Confidence has drained , crowds are down . When the club returned from their exile in Northampton 35 miles away back in September , over 27,000 packed into the ground . On Saturday , a mere 9,446 turned out . The potential for massive crowds is obvious but poor form has seen many return their scarves to the back of the wardrobe . The Coventry wide man wheels away in celebration after giving his side the perfect start . It ’ s because Coventry are staring at the indignity of fourth-tier football for the first time since 1959 and , after this chastening reintroduction to management after 16 months away , Mowbray is in no doubt as to how precarious their situation is . ‘ If we ’ d sat here and we ’ d won , I ’ d be telling you how great it was but as a football manager it really hurts , ’ he reflected . ‘ The highs are really good , the lows low but there ’ s not much in between . ‘ It would have been nice to give the fans a victory . I don ’ t think the players let them down but we are where we are. ’ To be exact , still a sole point above the relegation zone after an afternoon that had started so positively for his team . The mere presence of the former Hibernian , West Brom , Celtic and Middlesbrough boss seemed to energise the place initially and Coventry led on four minutes through captain Jim O ’ Brien . The former Middlesbrough and Celtic manager holds his arms aloft in appeal at the Ricoh Arena . They were comfortable until two Port Vale goals just before the break turned the tables . Tom Pope and then the impressive Mark Marshall , released by Mowbray ’ s predecessor Steven Pressley in the summer , exposed defensive flaws . But Coventry rallied and when Sanmi Odelusi came off the bench to level , they had all the momentum with 20 minutes to play . Alas , six minutes later , Michael O ’ Connor ’ s free-kick handed the three points to Vale , who are just two points off the play-offs . Their manager , Rob Page , made 70 league appearances for Coventry as a defender . He certainly doesn ’ t want to see them slide into League Two . ‘ I think they have just brought in a fantastic manager , ’ he said . ‘ I think he will keep them up and then build in the summer for next season. ’ For Mowbray , though , it ’ s only the here and now that matters . PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEKEND . Derby County were about to go top of the Championship as goals from Jamie Ward and Tom Ince put them 2-0 up against Birmingham . But Gary Rowett ’ s men staged a stunning stoppage-time comeback through a Paul Caddis penalty and Clayton Donaldson ’ s leveller . Clayton Donaldon ( left ) gets first to the ball as he knocks the ball home from close range . The former Brentford striker ( right ) secured a last-gasp point for Birmingham at Derby on Saturday . WHAT 'S CAUGHT MY EYE . Daryl Murphy extended his Championship tally to 22 goals but the striker was left to rue missing a sitter from four yards as Ipswich were held 1-1 by Brentford . Daryl Murphy fires home to put Ipswich 1-0 up against Brentford early on in the match . Gary Gardner ( right ) fires home brilliantly from close range for Nottingham Forest against Middlesbrough . Aston Villa loanee Gary Gardner scored a cracker as Nottingham Forest ’ s resurgence under Dougie Freedman continued with a 2-1 win over title-chasing Middlesbrough . Simon Grayson ’ s Preston North End have hit form at the perfect time . Their 2-0 win at MK Dons was their sixth win in seven in the league , all coming with clean sheets .
Tony Mowbray suffered defeat in his first game in charge of Coventry . The Sky Blues lost 3-2 against Port Vale on 16 months . Despite that Mowbray is confident of a bright future at the Ricoh Arena . Elsewhere , Birmingham produced a stunning comeback at Derby to earn themselves a point in a 2-2 draw . In-form Ipswich striker Daryl Murphy missed a sitter in Brentford draw . Preston are flying high in League One - with six wins in seven games .