Frank Lampard believes he returns to the Premier League a better manager than when he left it in June 2023.
The former England international has guided Coventry City to the Championship title and they will now play top flight football for the first time in a quarter of a century.
The promotion is the first of Lampard’s managerial career and offers him the opportunity to once again manage at the top level, having had one promising spell in charge of Chelsea, a tough one at Everton and a second very challenging interim period back at Stamford Bridge.
Having ‘completed’ the Championship the 47-year-old believes he has improved from his time back at Chelsea and said: “You adapt in small ways because this job gives you so many different challenges and you've got to learn from them. You've got to learn from every day in training and situations and games.
“I think I'm nearly 300 games now. If I wasn't improving, there'd be something wrong. Hopefully I am.
“I probably have a better balance myself in terms of how I approach things because this job is not just a tactical, it's also dealing with people, it's dealing with all the things that come alongside it, media, everything.
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“So probably, yes, I'm in the best spot I've been, it looks that way because of what we've just done.
“I don't think I was a bad manager before, I'm not the best manager in the world now, but hopefully I've achieved something here and I want to get better than that.
“I think I always have a motivation to prove points. I don't want that to sound cynical. It's just how I've built my career as a player and a manager.
“What I do know is that with Coventry City going to the Premier League, it's going to be tough because we know it's tough for teams that come up.
“It'll be a different context of managing at Chelsea, trying to get in the Champions League, managing at Everton, trying to stay in the Premier League.
“It's not for me to have to overanalyse that side of it, it's the best job that I can do with what I have, and I'll always try and do that.”
Lampard will now work with owner Doug King to prepare the Sky Blues players for what will be a severe test.
Prior to this season all six clubs who were promoted in the previous two campaigns went straight back down again. So far this term one of the three who came up in 2024/25, Burnley, look set to be relegated.
Coventry City are back in the Premier League
The Coventry Telegraph has produced a stunning special edition marking the achievements of Frank Lampard and his men.
And to celebrate, the Coventry Telegraph has produced this stunning 48-page special edition marking the achievements of Frank Lampard and his men.
Since relegation in 2001, the Sky Blues have gone through many well-documented lows, but a quarter of a century later, free-scoring City have earned promotion in emphatic style.
And our bumper special edition is the perfect souvenir to remember that fantastic achievement by.
We'll have match reports, pics, and reaction from every kick of City's journey back to English football's promised land.
It's all here... the avalanche of goals pre-Christmas that made promotion look nailed on, the brief wobble that followed, and the revival under Lampard to consolidate their position at the top of the table.
Plus, Sky Blues writer Andy Turner will have pages and pages of in-depth analysis on the title-winning season, manager Lampard's success, key players, and what lies ahead for the club in the top flight.
Club historian Jim Brown will also share his fact-filled take on promotion, while there will be pictures and reports from the Sky Blues' joyful promotion celebrations.
Click here to buy
“This [the Championship] is different to the Premier League, the step up's going to be big, that's clear from teams that have gone up and come back down, teams that have gone up and stayed.
“Predominantly a lot of teams come down, so you have to invest, you have to invest well.
“And the players have to understand the challenge, as the staff will understand the different challenges of the Premier League, the level of quality, the level of physicality and the technical level.
“That's why the Premier League is the best league in the world, in my opinion, so there are challenges ahead for sure.”
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