Ex-Maidstone captain Blair Turgott won’t forget his time at Coventry in a hurry.

Turgott will be an interested observer when two of his old clubs meet in the FA Cup fifth round on Monday night.

He’ll be watching on TV in Sweden, where he is preparing for the new Allsvenskan league season with former champions BK Hacken.

Turgott shared memories of his eventful spell at the Sky Blues, joining them from West Ham at the end of the January transfer window in 2015.

He was only there a matter of months but played under three managers as they battled for League 1 survival.

It was also the club where he met and played alongside James Maddison, now one of the biggest stars in the Premier League.

The pair remain friends today.

Turgott, looking for first-team football, plumped for Coventry after boss Steven Pressley made an impression during talks.

But he was sacked soon after, with Neil MacFarlane placed in caretaker charge before Tony Mowbray took over.

It was some start to life at the Ricoh Arena, now known as the CBS Arena.

“I signed on a six-month deal and it was mad because I had three managers in a matter of weeks,” said Turgott, 29.

“They were drifting a bit and Steven Pressley thought I could come in make a difference and then, boom, he got sacked.

“The assistant manager took over, then he went as well, and Tony Mowbray came in.

“I wasn’t playing and I remember going to see him and he said, ‘I don’t really know anything about you’.

“We had a good relationship, and he was actually really good to me.

“I was coming from West Ham and had played for England under-19s but, in the position we were in, he felt he needed some experience in there.

“No one really cares if you can play nine out of 10, they just want seven minimum.

“Everyone had to be solid because at that point we could have gone down. He couldn’t take any chances.

“All I was really bothered about when I signed was the manager.

“If the manager calls you up and tells you, ‘I’ve watched you play, this is what you can do for me’, that gives you a bit more confidence than hearing it from a chief scout or a sporting director.

“That’s when you take it in a bit more and take it seriously.

“We had a great relationship, me and Steve Pressley, and I was like, ‘Yeah, this is ledge, this makes sense because if I do well I’m playing at a good team, a good club’.

“Everything just kind of made sense.

“I was hoping I could come in and do well but I didn’t know the manager was on borrowed time.”

Turgott made three first-team appearances for Coventry, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win at Peterborough that helped them stave off the threat of relegation.

He hoped his Posh goal might be the start of a run in the team under Mowbray.

It didn’t happen but he had no regrets in joining the 1987 FA Cup winners, a famous old name in English football, even if they were down on their luck at the time.

“I came on at Peterborough and scored and everyone was like, ‘What’s going on with Turgott? Why is he not playing?’

“Before signing for Coventry, I’d been on a lot of loans but I always knew I’d be going back to West Ham so it was hard to get too attached to a club.

“When I left there and things worked out as they did at Coventry, that’s when I realised how brutal football, and the other side of it, is.

“I always say to kids now that football is just a game of opinions.

“I had three managers at Coventry. One may think I’m great, one may think I’m OK and one may think I’m rubbish.

“But all that really matters is you’re giving 100% every day and when you do get your opportunity, you’re ready.

“It didn’t go as well as I expected at Coventry but I’ve no hard feelings towards them.

“It’s a decent club and to see where they are now, going well in the Championship, fair play.

“Before I signed there, my dad told me about the history and when we went to the stadium, one of the geezers ended up talking us through it all and I was like, ‘Wow’.

“Obviously it was before my time but certain clubs, you still know they’re big.

“No matter what league they’re in, you always know it’s a big club and that was one of them.

“With the history they’ve had, it’s a renowned club and for little old Maidstone to be going there, it’s going to be unreal.

“It’s mad to think I played for both clubs.”

Turgott played alongside a young James Maddison in Coventry’s reserves.

The midfielder had a bit to say for himself but his talent was clear.

“We got on really well,” said Turgott, who knows fellow Jamaica internationals Kasey Palmer and Joel Latibeaudiere in the current Sky Blues squad.

“He was almost like he is now, you could see he’s got something about him.

“I wouldn’t say cockiness or arrogance but you can call it something.

“It’s not overboard, he’s just sure of himself, confident, you could say.

“I was away from London and I was like, ‘Who’s this kid from Coventry giving it the big’un?’

“I remember on the coach the whole way to a game he didn’t stop talking and I was thinking to myself, ‘He better be good’.

“We get on the pitch and after 20 minutes I was like, ‘You can speak as much as you want’.

“To be fair, he was really good.

“Obviously he was younger then so he’d get pushed about a bit but on the ball and his body checks, I remember when he’d get the ball of the half-turn and I used to be thinking, ‘You’ve got a proper chance if you keep your head down and keep playing’.”

Turgott, who captained Maidstone in the 2018/19 National League season, made his comeback from a long-term knee injury last weekend.

He came on as a late substitute as Hacken beat his old club Ostersunds 2-0 in the Swedish Cup.

Turgott missed all of last season as Hacken, champions in 2022, finished third and played in the Europa League.

They’re through to the Conference League qualifying rounds next season, hopefully giving Turgott his first taste of European football.

Swedish football was rocked last month by news that former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.

Eriksson, the first man to win league and cup doubles in three different countries, is one of the most decorated bosses in European football history.

“It’s sad to hear about Sven, especially here in Sweden,” said Turgott.

“As you can imagine, he’s massive over here and where I am, in Gothenburg, that’s where he made his name as a manager.

“He’s a big influence in football in Sweden.

“He’s been at a few of my games.

“When I scored against Gothenburg, when we won the league, he was there. My dad came down on the pitch after the game and he said, ‘You’ll never guess who I saw?’ He was buzzing.

“You can tell how much he means to people around the world, especially here after what he’s done.

“Let’s just hope the gods are with him.

“He’s an inspiration, especially for other managers.

“I think Sven’s ledge.”