Lampard backs Coventry's growing belief ahead of Everton return
Frank Lampard says Coventry still have room to improve as the Sky Blues prepare to face his former club Everton, with a win potentially lifting them to 11th in the Premier League.
Frank Lampard believes Coventry City have a higher ceiling than they have shown so far as he prepares to return to Everton, the club he managed for a year from January 2022, on Friday. A victory would take the Sky Blues to 12 points and potentially 11th place, level with eighth-placed Bournemouth a quarter of the way through their first Premier League season in 25 years.
Coventry opened with four defeats without scoring against Arsenal, Hull, Manchester City and Brighton, but have since climbed out of the relegation zone with three wins in five games, including Saturday's victory over Sunderland. Lampard said optimism at the club's Ryton training base never wavered, with staff finding encouragement in performances against Hull, Manchester City and Arsenal despite the results.
Lampard has shown tactical flexibility, switching to a back three to match Nottingham Forest in a 1-0 win at the City Ground after a Carabao Cup defeat by Aston Villa. The statistics against Sunderland reflected a more pragmatic approach: Coventry had 42.6% possession compared with 68.5% in the season-opening loss to Hull, made more than 200 fewer passes and produced 60 passes in the final third, down from 128. Lampard also benched captain Matt Grimes, a key figure in last season's promotion, a call met with understanding within the club.
Coventry still have the Premier League's lowest expected goals figure at 8.34, and their squad is short of top-flight experience. Taiwo Awoniyi and Ethan Pinnock have played the most Premier League games, while several teammates have featured only briefly. Lampard acknowledged that developing resilience can take hundreds of matches, adding that he and the squad have managed complications well given their aims.
Lampard stressed that relaxation and complacency are the biggest dangers and said enjoyment of a win is short-lived before attention turns to the next game. After Everton, Coventry host Crystal Palace and Ipswich either side of a trip to Leeds, a run the club is understood to view as crucial to its survival hopes.
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