It was always going to be interesting to see which way Frank Lampard would turn when his ill-advised, ill-fated second spell in interim charge of Chelsea came to a sorry end in May 2023. With his managerial reputation in tatters following his January sacking by Everton, would he throw himself at the next Premier League vacancy that cropped up, or would he take stock and aim to come back stronger? Two years on, he will be overjoyed that he pipped for the latter.
Having taken a much-needed 18-month break from coaching, Lampard wisely took the step back down to the Championship – where he had enjoyed a successful spell in charge of Derby County – in November 2024, returning to the dugout at Coventry City.
He was by no means a popular appointment at the CBS Arena, with the ownership accused of going for the flashy, big-name option when the club found itself in the kind of sticky situation that required experience and know-how. But in the 11 months since, Lampard has gone about demonstrating his pedigree at that level and restored his long-lost status as arguably one of the most exciting younger English coaches around.
With the October international break now upon us, Coventry sit at the summit of the Championship table; they have got there by playing an irresistible brand of attacking football that has blown their rivals out of the water in the opening weeks of the season, and suddenly they look like serious contenders for promotion after suffering play-off heartbreak last term.
After swallowing his pride, Lampard's redemption arc could well lead him back into the promised land of the Premier League with his reputation rebuilt, and in charge of one of the most exciting teams in the country…
Getty Images SportUpward trajectory
The first thing that's worth mentioning is that this is no fluke; Coventry were marooned in 17th in the Championship and just two points above the relegation zone when Lampard was appointed in November 2024, facing the unenviable task of replacing hugely popular long-serving boss Mark Robins, who had been unceremoniously sacked.
After a challenging start, they started putting some record-breaking results together in early 2025 and surged up the table and into the play-off places, managing to stay there despite a late wobble that almost proved costly.
However, the four-way lottery to reached the promised land of the Premier League ultimately ended in heartbreak as Sunderland prevailed in their semi-final, courtesy of Daniel Ballard's agonising 122nd-minute equalising goal in the second leg that secured an aggregate victory for the Black Cats.
But it's clear that Coventry haven't dwelt on that huge disappointment in the months since, instead continuing that momentum by making a flying start to 2025-26 to put themselves in pole position for automatic promotion in the early stages of the marathon race that is the Championship season.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportGoals, goals, goals
Given Lampard is the highest-scoring midfielder in the history of the Premier League with a ridiculous 177 top-flight strikes to his name, it will come as very little surprise that an intensive attacking philosophy has been the backbone of his success so far this season.
A purposeful, possession-based approach has seen Coventry create more chances, have more shots and land more efforts on target than anyone else in the hyper-competitive 24-team second tier, and perhaps unsurprisingly that has resulted in them scoring a heap of goals – 27, to be precise, which is at least 12 more than anyone else in the division. That has seen them build up a ridiculous +20 goal difference after just nine games, thanks in no small part to a 7-1 dismantling of QPR and consecutive big wins over Birmingham, Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday.
It helps that the Sky Blues have three of the Championship's current five top goal-scorers in their ranks: the USMNT's Haji Wright, who leads the way overall with eight goals in nine games, and Brandon Thomas-Asante and Viktor Torp, who have both bagged five times so far. Meanwhile, right-back Milan van Ewijk has the joint-most assists in the league with five.
Lampard's 4-2-3-1 shape seems to complement the personnel perfectly, with Asante-Thomas slotting in behind Wright and Torp contributing from a deeper, box-to-box role. All three are examples of how the manager has improved players, too, with Wright's finishing and work-rate coming on leaps and bounds, Asante-Thomas successfully stepping in to cover for the injured Ephron Mason-Clark and Torp being far more effective going forward than last season.
Getty Images SportStriking a balance
While Lampard has never really struggled to implement an attacking philosophy, defensive issues have arguably been his downfall in his previous roles at Chelsea and Everton. However, at Coventry he seems to have struck the right balance.
The Sky Blues have won their last three matches by an aggregate score of 12-0, with centre-back Bobby Thomas particularly impressive both on the ground and in the air alongside Liam Kitching, and goalkeeper Carl Rushworth – on loan from Brighton – catching the eye behind him (he has the most clean sheets in the Championship with nine).
Their staunchness is reflected in the fact that three of the seven goals the Midlands club have conceded came in the same game – the helter-skelter 5-3 victory over Lampard's former club Derby back in mid-August.
Defensive solidity is something the legendary midfielder has worked hard on. "When you get in, you try and analyse the problems quickly and we were conceding too many goals," the coach told last season.
"We weren't compact enough, we weren't aggressive enough, so we tried to really prioritise our off-the-ball work. The players have done it because they've bought into everything we've tried to say. I have to say, this group of players, the humility, the application of them is absolutely amazing."
Getty Images Sport'Perfect mix of detail and freedom'
So, what is the secret formula? Coventry certainly didn't spend big in the transfer market to transform the squad, with many supporters concerned by the lack of incomings during the summer. Rushworth arrived from Brighton and defenders Luke Woolfenden and Kaine Kesler-Hayden were signed from Ipswich and Aston Villa respectively, but neither has seen significant minutes.
Instead, Lampard seems to have instilled a real belief in the existing, fairly thin squad and pushed them to be better, while keeping hold of the likes of attacking midfielder Jack Rudoni and Van Ewijk – both linked with exits – has been vital. "It's incredible, you can see the amount of confidence our front lads are playing with at the minute," midfielder Matt Grimes, himself a key January signing, told recently.
"We've been really good in both boxes – not just the amount of goals we've scored but also that's four clean sheets in a row now, so all good signs. We're playing with the perfect mix of detail and freedom and that's what you're seeing. The attacking players are an absolute force at the minute."
Grimes was made captain in September, with the Sky Blues collecting 13 points from a possible 15 in the weeks since. "It's been a good start for all of us," he continued. "I know there was a lot of noise in the summer about us not starting too well [in past seasons], and we've done that this year so we can just get our heads down, keep working and crack on."