Coventry City defender Joel Latibeaudiere says the “togetherness” of the squad is their driving force as they head into Christmas top of the Championship.

The leaders held on for a vital point with 10 men in a 1-1 draw at Southampton on Saturday after Jay Dasilva was sent off two minutes into the start of the second half.

Frank Lampard’s side are now six points clear of second-placed Middlesbrough, and 11 points ahead of third-placed Ipswich Town.

“The biggest takeaway for me was how the team stuck together, how we grinded it out, and that feeling of togetherness to take into the next game. I think that’s why we are where we are,” Latibeaudiere told BBC CWR.

“A lot of us have been together for three years now. We’ve been knocking on the door a long time. The gaffer has come in and hit the ground running.

“He’s also added a couple of top quality additions who’ve fitted in straight away. I think we are where are because of the group and how hard we run, how hard we work for each other.

“He reminds of that every day in training, and as long as we keep sticking together like we are, the sky’s the limit.”

Latibeaudiere was making his first appearance of the season at St Mary’s after sustaining bone-bruising while on international duty with Jamaica at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June.

“I got it at a really bad time, and missed most of pre-season,” he added. “It took a while, and I’m back ready now, feeling fresh. The boys have been class, and I’m just glad to be part of it now.”

Flu in the Coventry camp at the weekend meant Latibeaudiere played alongside Luke Woolfenden for the first time, with the latter having arrived from Ipswich in the summer.

“We’ve actually become really close because we’ve not been playing,” he said. “That is really tough for players because that’s all we want to do.

“We’ve had those days where you come and its like, ‘I’m doing this again’, so getting each other through that and doing extra sessions after training really paid off, and I thought we were really good together.

“Its been tough mentally, but there have been a few players in the same boat and we’ve just stuck together and got ourselves through those tough moments, and we were always ready.

“When the time came I knew I was ready, I was prepared, and I just loved being out there.”