 Strachan guided Coventry to 11th, 15th and 14th-place finishes in the Premiership over the next three seasons.Their luck finally ran out on 5 May 2001 when a 3–2 defeat, ironically at the hands of arch-rivals Aston Villa, ended their impressive 34-year tenure in the top flight (a game they were winning 2–0 at half-time, away at Villa Park).Five games into the 2001–02 season manager Gordon Strachan was sacked, shortly after an embarrassing 1–0 defeat at home to Grimsby Town.