Middlesbrough, Coventry City, Millwall and Ipswich Town are in the race for automatic promotion into the Premier League.
There was mixed fortunes for Middlesbrough, Coventry City, Millwall and Ipswich Town as the race for automatic promotion into the Premier League took another dramatic twist over the weekend.
Coventry still lead the way and appear to have one eye in the top flight despite being held to a goalless home draw by already relegated Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday afternoon. The Sky Blues still sit ten points clear of second placed Ipswich Town - although the Tractor Boys do hold two games in hand on the frontrunners and have built up some serious momentum following their 2-0 win at arch rivals Norwich City. First-half goals from Jayden Philogene and George Hirst handed all three points to Kieran McKenna’s side and they will hope to make the most of one of their games in hand when they visit Portsmouth on Tuesday night.
There was major frustration for Millwall after their goalless draw against West Bromwich Albion on Friday night left them two points adrift of the automatic promotion places and there was bitter disappointment for Middlesbrough after a last-gasp goal from Conor Chaplin condemned Kim Hellberg’s side to a dramatic home defeat against Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon.
Although it would appear Coventry and Ipswich are firmly in the driving seat for the two automatic promotion places, anything could happen between now and the end of the season - but what are the four managers of the main contenders saying about what could lie ahead?
Frank Lampard (Coventry City) - 1st place, 85 points
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Speaking after Saturday’s home draw with already relegated Sheffield Wednesday, the former Chelsea and England midfielder said: "I think there's understandable elements to the game, there's a bit of tension to do that and a lot of the players are probably living this situation for the first time. When are you going to do it, the expectancy to do it, and maybe there was a small effect on the game. To not win when three points are there, you create the chances we did but without having the usual snappy sharpness we have at the top of the pitch makes it a bit frustrating.”
Kieran McKenna (Ipswich Town) - 2nd place, 75 points
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The Tractor Boys boosted their hopes of securing runners-up spot with a derby win against Norwich on Saturday. Speaking after the win, McKenna said: "I think the time to revel in a game like this is hopefully in three weeks' time or in the summer after a successful season. It's not now. In essence, it's the same three points as we got last week. And it's the same three points as we're fighting for against Portsmouth (on Tuesday night). Of course, against a good team like this, getting three points is massive, but we've got six more games to fight for those points. We're going to need to win plenty of them and they're all going to be hard to win."
Alex Neil (Millwall) - 3rd place, 73 points
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Speaking after Friday’s goalless draw with West Brom, the Lions boss doubled down on his criticism of fixture scheduling by saying: “We made six changes for the game, and you could see at the end that we were knackered, dead on our feet. So, we couldn’t muster enough to go and win the game, but if you can’t win it, don’t lose it. The first goal would have changed things, and we had the best opportunities, but we didn’t take them.”I’ve said my piece on the fixtures. We’ve now played ahead of everyone else two or three times, we’re going to do it again next week. It’s not been helpful and you could see that among the players. It’s frustrating.”
Kim Hellberg (Middlesbrough) - 4th place, 72 points
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Speaking after Saturday’s disappointing defeat against struggling Portsmouth, the Boro boss said: "In the first half, it's slow, it's boring, there's no energy. It's not the same way taking the ball back, it's passive. That is the disappointment. But, I want to be clear, we should not lose this game. This was poor by the high bar we’ve set ourselves. We maybe don't deserve to win, but you cannot lose this game, when they have no chances in the whole game. For the moment at home, we're struggling in terms of that, and we, for the moment, find a way to not win. I have to be honest, because everyone sees it. There’s no hiding from that, and that we have to sort out."
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