As Brandon Thomas-Asante’s 40-yard lob led Coventry City to a 2-0 win over Swansea – a sixth successive victory in all competitions – it was a moment that summed up the last three months under Frank Lampard.
Lampard took over on 28 November following the stunning decision to end Mark Robins’ stint of nearly eight years. Robins was sacked with Coventry lying 17th in the Championship league, but Lampard has drastically reversed the course of their season.
“It came as a shock [Robins’ sacking], and I think the fans were the same, but at the end of the day, they are Coventry City fans and they want the club to do well,” left-back Jake Bidwell tells The i Paper.
“They will be forever thankful for the job the manager [Robins] did but since the first game, the fans have been singing the manager’s [Lampard’s] name and that has continued to be the case.
Since Lampard’s arrival, Coventry have taken 24 points from 13 matches. Bidwell thinks that is because to “a solid foundation that he has built over the last few months, meaning the eye-catching things like Brandon’s goal become possible”.
“He had very firm principles with us from day one, prioritising hard work and building trust.
“We are on the same page and we feel that on the pitch everyone is backing each other up.”
Lampard encourages his players to take risks, generating the sort of climate that allowed Coventry to beat Swansea for the first time since 1981 – and on the road for the first time in 75 years.
It was a statement win that suggested Coventry are becoming a consistent force in the Championship.
Lampard seemed to have rediscovered his stride at the same moment as Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard lost their jobs at Plymouth Argyle and Al-Ettifaq respectively.
“Nothing breeds team support and confidence like winning games.”
Former England star Lampard has had his own troubles in management, despite experiencing initial success at Derby County, leading them to the brink of promotion.
An FA Cup final was the zenith of his first tenure at Chelsea, but he was ousted in 2021 after a run of five defeats in eight games.
At Everton, he was dismissed after a run of one win from 14 games. He later returned to Stamford Bridge as caretaker manager in 2023 but did not get the post on a permanent basis.
Coventry has been an opportunity to turn that run around and his presence in the dugout has immediately provided the team a boost in terms of recruitment. That has included Matt Grimes, the Swansea captain who missed the weekend’s games as his transfer to Coventry was being finalized.
“It shows the type of players Lampard is trying to bring in and those who want to play under him,” says Stuart Rendall from Coventry podcast All Things Sky Blue.
“It looks like the owner Doug King made the right call sacking Robins, he was perhaps stuck in his ways. He will still go down as a legend but Lampard is a fantastic match and will take us to the next level. At first, he was under the shadow of Robins but now 13 games in he is standing on his own.”
Bidwell admits that “when Robins went, it came as a shock to everyone”.
“But we had to move on and put it to the back of our minds as brutal as that is.
“It is a fresh start for everyone when a new manager comes so there is excitement around that. I grew up watching that generation play, so to have someone of Lampard’s ability come in is incredibly exciting.”
Coventry are now 11th and three points outside the play-off places, but now the true test lie ahead. They meet league-leaders Leeds on Wednesday, which would be a major scalp for Lampard ahead of a good run of fixtures.
For more:https://sportchannel.co.uk/2025/02/05/frank-lampard-mo…reer-its-working/
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