Matt Grimes has described himself as feeling like "a bit of an imposter" when speaking about Coventry City's incredible journey back to the Premier League — a journey he only joined partway through.

The Coventry City captain made just four Premier League appearances during a brief spell with Swansea City as a young player, having initially joined from Exeter City over a decade ago. He spent the years that followed working his way back to the top flight, but he insists the wait has been far harder on the club's supporters than on him personally.

A club that went to the depths

Coventry were relegated from the Premier League in 2001, and what followed was a painful two-decade ordeal. The club spent the majority of the next 11 years in the lower reaches of the Championship before dropping all the way down to League Two in 2017.

Along the way, supporters endured groundsharing arrangements away from their home city, ownership uncertainty, and the agony of a Championship play-off final defeat — a collection of hardships that tested even the most loyal of fans.

Grimes, who joined Coventry in January of last year, told FourFourTwo: "The club have been down to League Two, had to groundshare, all of that. So I feel like a bit of an imposter talking about it, because I haven't endured it the same as the fans have."

A Friday night to remember

Promotion was confirmed in April with a 1-1 draw away to Blackburn Rovers, sealed in front of around 7,000 travelling supporters who had made the trip on a Friday night.

"To give that back on that night when we got the club promoted in front of 7,000 away fans, who travelled all the way to Blackburn on a Friday night — it was very, very fitting," Grimes said.

That moment was the culmination of several near-misses under managers Mark Robins and Frank Lampard, but Grimes believes the manner of their eventual promotion made it all the more special.

Magnitude of a title-winning season

Coventry did not merely earn promotion — they won the Championship title by 11 points, a margin that Grimes feels has not yet been fully appreciated.

"When teams come down from the Premier League, it's normal that all the bookmakers have them to be top two or top six," he said. "So to win the league like we did, 11 points ahead of second... I don't think people will realise the magnitude of it until maybe a couple of years down the line. It was a season where most of what we touched turned to gold."