Frank Lampard: Emotional Coventry boss says Premier League promotion ‘tops list of his achievements’ Football News

An emotional Frank Lampard says promotion to the Premier League as Coventry manager is one of the best achievements of his illustrious career.

Bobby Thomas equalized at the last moment and drew 1-1 with Blackburn Rovers. Coventry advanced to the Premier League for the first time in 25 years.

Lampard has won promotion for the first time in his managerial career – an achievement he believes rivals those who won the Premier League and Champions League as a player.

“I’m very proud,” he told Sky Sports. “At times, all managers talk about players but I’m proud, I’m proud of myself, the staff and the kids.

“We came here 15 months ago in a people carrier and we went into a somewhat unknown environment, like you always go to work.

“We fell in love with the players, their reaction, the fan base, their reaction.

“So for me, what I could possibly achieve is there. I’m lucky to be in a great Chelsea team. To win the Champions League and the league is fantastic. Sometimes I can thank Didier Drogba or John Terry for that.

“Now, to do it at this club with what we’ve done, to me, is overachieving. I’m not dissing the players there. They’ve raised the level of their game through sheer work and I’m proud to be the manager of this team.”

Promotion ’emotional’ for Lampard

The former England international was almost in tears as he was interviewed amid jubilant scenes at Ewood Park.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “I’ve spoken about the fan base before, what they’ve been through and all the disappointments, they’ve stuck with the club and all the stories. And then now they’ve got this moment. This is a very, very serious football club. I didn’t even realize it.

“I know the history. I know how Coventry grew up. Coventry were a Premier League, First Division team. But this incredible fan base and what it means to the city and what these players have achieved.

“We came into the league 15 months ago and were 17th. Mark Robins has done an unbelievable job to get them back to where they were. But then, with three games left, automatic promotion as a non-parachute team. Those boys there, how they listen and train and everything they do every day. It’s exciting for me because it’s been great to work with them and they deserve every second to celebrate and get the job done.

“This league is difficult. It gets harder and harder because even the teams that are fighting for relegation, the teams that have the players and the squads and so on. People think it’s easy. It’s not. It’s harder. And these boys have managed to do something very unique, absolutely special and incredible. I’m delighted.”

“There is no automatic promotion in our plans this season”

Coventry last played in the top flight in 2001 when they were relegated from the Premier League (a regular fixture in the Premier League since its inception in 1992).

The Sky Blues hit rock bottom when they dropped into the Second Division in 2017, but after losing to Luton in the 2023 play-off final and a heartbreaking defeat to Sunderland in the play-off semi-finals last season, they have fought back to storm into the Championship under Frank Lampard this season and secure a return to the Premier League with three games remaining.

The 47-year-old said: “The lads went from 17th to fifth last year and Sunderland beat us and we were very unlucky in that semi-final so we have the quality to come back and be able to push again and do consistent things.

“Automatic promotion was not in our plans. We sat down in the summer and talked about how perfect the season could be, given what we are and what we can do and everything, and we were thinking, can we get into the play-offs? Can we finish third or fourth for the second game at home, which we didn’t do last year? Now these boys have done that and they have three games left.

“I have a bit of a feeling that last year there was always pressure and panic, we got into the play-offs at the last minute and we had two games left at Everton and Chelsea got into the Champions League last game. Thank God I don’t have to do that this year.”

“We want to win the race, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a great feeling that the boys have managed to get across the finish line at this point.”