Coventry City feature from CoventryLive as Sky Blues reporter Andy Turner sat down with Kai Andrews to discuss his development journey to date and smashing the bleep fitness test for three years running

Hard work every single day, whether on the training pitch or in a match, is a basic prerequisite for any professional footballer if they want to get on in their careers.

It’s particularly so for young development players trying to catch the eye of their manager and accelerate their progress into first team contenders. And in Kai Andrews’ case there has been another impressive ingredient that’s given him opportunities to impress first Mark Robins, who gave him his senior Coventry City debut at the tender age of 17, and then under Frank Lampard and international boss, Craig Bellamy – his fitness numbers.

For three pre-season’s running he’s finished top of the bleep test in the entire Sky Blues squad.

Explaining how it all began with former manager Robins handing him his first team debut against Middlesbrough, sent on as an 89th minute sub in a 3-0 CBS Arena victory in August 2023, he said: “Hard work and fitness is always at the forefront of my mind because throughout my time as a first year scholar I wasn’t even a regular starter in the Under-18s or 21s.

“And I remember going back in to pre-season before my second year as a scholar and I was just training and working as hard as I could, and then I got the chance to go and train with the first team based off my fitness test and results, which came off all the hard work I’d put in.”

Involved in a few friendlies, Andrews was then included in matchday squads at the start of the 2023/24 Championship campaign and it wasn’t long before he was handed his debut.

“I was surprised,” admitted the Academy graduate who is currently out on loan at League One Oxford United. “Obviously I’d been with the first team in the pre-season but I never really thought it would come along so quick but it was great to get on the pitch, and even though it was only for a few minutes I was absolutely buzzing.”

Revealing what Robins had said to him at the time, he said: “I remember it quite well. We had a training session on the Thursday before and after the session he just pulled me and said, ‘look, you’ve given yourself a good chance to play on the weekend,’ just based off the way I trained. Even though he’d said it, I still didn’t believe it would happen but Saturday came and he gave me the opportunity.”

Robins is also responsible for converting him from a striker into a box-to-box midfielder.

“I started out as a striker, playing through all the youth groups until I was a second year scholar when I was pushed into the first team and I had a conversation with Mark Robins who thought that the eight position suited me best, and so that’s when I started playing as a midfielder.”

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The Birmingham-born player was first spotted by West Brom while playing grassroots football, going on to spend an extended trial period with the Baggies before being picked up by Coventry in a tournament, aged 11, and has been there ever since.

With more impressive fitness numbers in the summer of 2024 it was decided to send Andrews out on loan to Motherwell in the following January – quite a daunting experience for an 18-year-old, leaving home and moving so far away to fend for himself, doing his own cooking and washing, not to mention helping to beat the mighty Rangers in front of over 50,000 fans at Ibrox.

“That was a big thing for me, that independence of living on your own,” he said, speaking exclusively to CoventryLive. “I was only just 18, moving to a different part of the country and in my own apartment and fending for myself but it was a really good experience for me and something I was really happy that I got an opportunity to do.

“I was definitely scared, though, especially the first time with Motherwell and being so far away from home. But it was the best thing for my career and I had to put that first.”

He added: “It was a big change for me, getting into a first team dressing room. And even though I didn’t manage to start as many games as much as I’d have liked, I still got the opportunity to play against Rangers at Ibrox and big games like against Celtic.

“That game against Rangers, especially, was a really good atmosphere and I was really happy with it. I was part of the build-up to the first goal and we won 2-1.”

On his return to Ryton in the summer of 2025 he decided he wanted to stay and fight for his place under new boss Frank Lampard, and featured in seven games from the bench during the first half of the promotion winning campaign, enough to earn a champions medal at the end of the season.

“I received a medal but I wasn’t able to go to the parade because I was on loan at Hibernian at the time so missed it, unfortunately, but I was happy to make that sacrifice for my career.”

It was in January earlier this year that it was decided Andrews would be sent out on loan again, this time to Hibs but again north of the border in the Scottish Prem.

The arrival of Frank Onyeka from Brentford pushed him down the midfield pecking order, with Andrews admitting: “Yeah and it was understandable because they were pushing for promotion and the sort of experience they could take from a player like Frank was definitely needed for the team. And obviously we all saw where it got us and so Hibs was an opportunity for me to go out and get more minutes and play regular football, which I thought was best for me at the time and so that’s why I had to make that decision.”

In only his fifth game in he was pitched in as a second half sub for the last 15 minutes against Celtic in front of over 59,000 fans at Celtic Park. And with the scores level at 1-1, he scored the winner three minutes from time.

So is that the highlight of his young career so far?

“Yeah, most definitely,” he said. “Between that and my first senior start for Wales. But that was definitely up there as one of the best moments of my career yet.”

Only 19 years old, what was it like?

“It was a surreal moment. The ball just fell to me in the right position and then when the ball hit the back of the net it was a little bit of a blur until I was back at the centre circle for the kick-off.”

His progress hasn’t gone unnoticed by his country, with Wales boss Craig Bellamy handing him his first senior cap in September 2025, in a friendly against Canada. He qualifies for Wales through his maternal grandmother who was born in Abercarn and although returning to play with the Under-21s, he was handed the captain’s armband for the last set of games in the extended international break.

“It’s a privilege to captain the national team,” he said. “I have done it before in other games when it’s been passed to me so this was the first time I have actually started a game with it so I’m really pleased.”

As for what former Sky Blues forward Bellamy has said to him, he revealed: “All the conversations I have had with him have been about playing consistently with my club football and that will get me into the right position when it comes to playing for Wales. And so I just have to keep striving for that.”

Returning to the Sky Blue fold this summer after one start and ten appearances from the bench and a goal for Hibs, Andrews knew it was going to be difficult at this stage of his on-going development to get a place in Frank Lampard’s 25-man Premier League squad. But, once again, his fitness numbers meant that he remains very much part of the club’s plans even if it meant another loan move to guarantee match minutes.

“He (Lampard) was really pleased with me in the pre-season because I came in and smashed the fitness test again and that put me in a good spot to go and play in pre-season again,” he said.

“I was in a really good place and it was a good thing that come the end of pre-season we had a conversation where he said I deserve to be playing and if I get an opportunity, like I did at Oxford, then it’s hard to turn that down because of how important it could be for my career. So he gave me permission to go, which I was very grateful for.”

So far he’s made four starts and two appearances from the bench for the U’s – the highlight of which has been a 4-0 thrashing of Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

“Yeah that’s definitely been the highlight so far and it’s a good group of lads and coaching staff, and the way we play just suits me and my development and will hopefully help me progress throughout the year,” he said.

The ultimate aim remains to eventually break into Coventry’s first team.

“Yeah, that’s always my ambition and I have that goal sat in front of me,” he said. “But I am going to give everything to Oxford right now until I go back. But once I go back that’s the next step for me, to try to push myself into that team.”

And for the record, asked about his fitness prowess in the squad, he said proudly: “Yeah, I was the fittest. And that’s three years on the bounce now in the bleep test.”

If you’re wondering who came second and third, he revealed: “I believe Frank Onyeka and Victor Torp.”