MARK Robins told of his joy and pride after Coventry secured a place in the play-offs - but was quick to add a word of Middlesbrough caution ahead of the semi-final double header against Michael Carrick's side.

Robins' Sky Blues picked up a deserved final day point at the Riverside - which was what they needed to guarantee a top six finish. And for all he was delighted with the performance and the outcome, he says he now has "plenty to think about" ahead of the play-off semi-finals and warned his players that there's "a lot more to come" from Boro.

Boro were again without a string of key players on Monday, with Jonny Howson, Dael Fry, Marcus Forss and Aaron Ramsey all missing. Carrick said none of those players are particularly close to a return, but Robins will plan for every eventuality.

There's been nothing at stake on Teesside in the last couple of weeks with Carrick's side having secured a top finish with three games to spare, but with everything now on the line in the play-offs Robins is preparing for the best possible Boro.

He said: "We have a few days to think about plans and how we're going to go about things. They're not daft here, Michael is really talented and there's plenty to think about. They have a lot more to come I think, in terms of availability of players, that might change. He's smart.

"We have a lot of thinking to do, but we'll enjoy it and enjoy the build-up."

Coventry endured a difficult start to the season, with the Sky Blues not managing to pick up their first win until the eighth time of asking, ironically against Boro in October.

Robins' side have got stronger as the season has gone on and the boss - who alongside Carrick and Vincent Kompany was nominated for Manager of the Season - hailed his players for getting over the line.

He said: "I'm proud of everybody. When you consider the start we had and Middlesbrough were similar really, though different circumstances, absolutely.

"It took us a while to get going but I'm really proud. The achievement just to get into the play-offs is phenomenal. There's only way to enjoy them, that's to win them.

"It was a really difficult 46 games but we've had a really good run and got some decent momentum going. Hopefully we can get another week into the players that have been laid low with injury. It's brilliant, exciting and we're looking forward to what comes next."

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Coventry got themselves in front through Gustavo Hamer at the Riverside on Monday before Cameron Archer's equaliser in first half stoppage time after Boro caught the visitors napping when they took a quick corner.

While there were twists aplenty elsewhere in the second half in the Championship play-off race, there was no further drama at the Riverside as Coventry saw it out for the point they needed.

Robins said: "In the game I thought we started really brightly and created the better of the chances.

"The only blot on the copybook in the game was when we switched off inexplicably at halt-time, but the good thing was we were in control all afternoon.

"We knew we needed a point. We got the important first goal, brilliant move, brilliant finish. We got our tails up a little bit, we were moving the ball pretty well, we stopped them from playing. They can play better than that, there's no doubt, but you have to credit my lot for the way we went about the job.

"Happy days and it's nothing short of what we deserve."