Mark Robins wants Stoke City to emulate the kind of progress seen at his old club
13:10, 17 Apr 2026
Mark Robins and Frank Lampard on the sideline as Stoke City take on Coventry.
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Mark Robins is sending his congratulations to Frank Lampard as Coventry head to the Premier League.(Image: PA)
Mark Robins is sending his congratulations to his old club Coventry City, his successor Frank Lampard and chairman Doug King as they get ready to seal promotion to the Premier League – with hope that he can follow them up with Stoke City.
Coventry could confirm promotion tonight if they pick up a point at Michael O’Neill’s Blackburn Rovers although, in reality, goal difference is such that they can already start preparing for life in the top flight for the first time since 2001.
This is the culmination of the work Robins oversaw during nearly eight years in charge, dragging them up from League Two to the top end of the Championship and only losing a play-off final on penalties in 2023 and the FA Cup semi-finals a year later.
He left in November last season after a stuttering start and Lampard, with just a couple of new signings, got them back in the top six by the spring and then set the pace pretty much all the way through this campaign.
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“They’re going up,” he said. “I’m really pleased for them. Frank has done a fantastic job. He took over from me in difficult circumstances and he’s taken it to a different level. They will go up and they’ve got the stadium now and it looks certainly a lot more stable. Not only that, they’ve got a really good team, a top manager and they’ve done fantastically well.
“The owner has been incredible there, to be fair, and what he’s done for the club, the city and what plans they have when they eventually get up, I’m sure they’ll spend money and try to stay in there.
“It won’t for him and certainly for the club and certainly for Frank be anything like going up and just staying in there for one season, they’ll try to stay in there for good. It’s taken quarter of a century to get back and that’s come from a long way down the pyramid – a similar story, in some ways, to the Wrexham story – so it’s been a long time coming.
“Good luck to them. I hope they enjoy their promotion and hopefully we can emulate them in the next couple of years.”
It is a reminder that what might have once seemed a distant dream can be possible if the right decisions are made consistently.
“That is 100 per cent true,” said Robins. “A big factor in that is recruitment and making sure you have that nailed down. You need a bit of luck around the way but to get players in who are capable of turning that around.
“Coventry was different, a little bit different, but even so you have to pick up some gems along the way that might start off as rough diamonds but you can polish them up and they become brilliant, brilliant players.
“Not only in the sense that they’ve done great at that particular moment but eventually if you don’t give up with them, they move on and it can give you the wherewithal and gives you the ability to go and spend some money in other areas and make you stronger and gives you depth at this level.
“It’s 100 per cent something that you can do. This club is different, it’s in a different position. The training ground is incredible. Our environment is really good. We’ve just got to match that with a little bit more but also if we can keep people on the pitch and ready to play that’s a huge, huge part of it otherwise you see what can happen.
“The depth of (Coventry’s) squad is huge and that’s something for us to look at after the coming weeks.”
Robins had Stoke in the top six until December this time around but they weren’t able to maintain a strong start. It has been a season when parachute clubs have not dominated as normal, partly because there haven’t been as many as normal, and the door was open enough for someone well placed like Coventry to take advantage of that.
Robins said: “There have been some disappointments but there’s been a lot of good progress made.
“Whoever comes down it’s going to be a real challenge and we’ve got to make sure we’re in the mix. If we can go higher (than top eight) we’ll snatch your hand off but you can’t make that leap from down there to up there unless you’ve built – and we’re building. We always talk about building, then you get into a position when you can attack it.”
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