Loan spell at MK Dons has helped Coventry in bid for first team football at West Ham

Conor Coventry has set his sights on a place in West Ham’s first team next season after impressing on loan at MK Dons.

The 22-year-old midfielder missed just 15 minutes of action after moving to Stadium MK in January, racking up 22 appearances in the centre of the park as Dons mounted their attack on the automatic promotion spots.

Having started the season on loan at Peterborough, Coventry struggled for game-time despite impressing during pre-season for his parent club. But his showings in League One see him return to the Hammers on the up and ready to make another attempt on David Moyes’ first team.

“Hopefully I will be in contact in pre-season but I know what I need to do,” said Coventry, speaking with Pundit Arena. “I went on loan to play games, become a better player and a better person, I did that on both counts, it can only help me. I feel closer to the team than I was a year ago, so it can only help me.

“I loved my time (at MK Dons) and it was the first time I really had a chance to get a run of games,” he continued. “I feel I really developed from that.

“It was a bit unlucky and sometimes things don’t go your way in football. I feel like we played a great style of football, we were one of the better teams in the league. It was a missed opportunity but you have to take the experiences you have, we played some really good football.”