The new manager of Coventry City was introduced to the media by Sky Blues owner Doug King on Thursday and FourFourTwo attended his first press conference at the CBS Arena to find out what the pair have planned.
Frank Lampard was appointed to replace former manager Mark Robins, who took Coventry to the brink of promotion to the Premier League and within an extremely tight VAR offside decision of the Emirates FA Cup final.
Robins was relieved of his duties after more than a decade in charge of an often struggling club over two spells. Sky Blues fans have made their feelings known about the dismissal of Robins but will now throw their support behind a manager whose pedigree speaks for itself but hasn’t had an easy start in coaching.
Frank Lampard is back in the game
Frank Lampard at Derby County
Frank Lampard's Derby County reached the Championship play-off final in 2019
King and Lampard answered questions from the press and it’s clear that the new Sky Blues head coach, to use King’s term, believes he’s refreshed and ready for a new challenge in the Championship, where he cut his teeth at Derby County in 2018-19.
“That was my first job and I learned a huge amount,” he said of his season in the second tier with the Rams. “I have to say I had a really enjoyable time there. We got to the play-off final and unfortunately fell at the last hurdle. So for me it was only really good experiences until that end bit.”
Former Coventry City manager Mark Robins on the touchline during a match
Mark Robins was a popular manager with Sky Blues supporters(Image credit: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
Lampard appeared confident and circumspect about the task facing Coventry this season, making it clear that there’s no specific target and no particular threshold he needs to meet in 2024-25.
“I just want to come here and work hard, to give my best for this club and for every fan of Coventry. I’ll work hard to affect the things I think I can affect, which is to hopefully bring success all around to this club. But absolute respect for what Mark [Robins] did over his time here.
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“I love the idea of giving fans an exciting team to watch and getting results for those fans. I look back at my career with Derby, I got to a play-off final. At Chelsea we managed to make it into the Champions League. So I’ve had good moments and good work.
“I want to play exciting football. What coach is going to sit here and say the opposite of that? I want us to be exciting to watch in an attacking sense. I also want us to be very difficult to play against without the ball and that’s a priority for me walking into this job, to make sure we get that right.”
With the press in attendance largely focused on Lampard, and the new gaffer more than capable of giving erudite and engaging answers to the questions thrown at him, King was able to take a back seat. But the owner stressed that Lampard was appointed at the end of a rigorous recruitment journey.
“Obviously we went through the process and Frank was the outstanding candidate that we felt was right for the moment and right for this period of our development as a football club,” said King.
“We had a lot of great applications and we had a shortlist that was of the highest calibre. And Frank stood out. We got on great and I think he’s putting himself back into the arena which is a brave thing to do.”
Lampard took training on Thursday and has spent time understanding the playing personnel he now has at his disposal.
“The age profile of the squad is good,” he said. “We hope there’s uplift with good work in individuals, then the team collectively. I think the balance of the squad is good when you look at it positionally, the back-up we have. It’s an important thing to have a balanced squad.”
Balance and stability haven’t always been available for Lampard the manager. He’s not expecting his former employers to help him out too much when it comes to tweaking the squad in January.
The suggestion of loans from Chelsea has been a popular one since his appointment but Lampard laughed it off in typical Lampardian fashion in the press conference.
“Who are we going to get from Chelsea? We’re going to bring in Joao Felix or something?”
No, but seriously…
“If a player comes in they have to affect us in a really positive way.”