How Coventry earned Premier League return after 25 years

After 25 years, Coventry are back in the Premier League.

It has been 9,113 days since they were relegated - by a 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa on 5 May 2001 - with the Sky Blues then tumbling to the brink.

After spending 11 years in the Championship, they were relegated to League One and fell into administration in 2013.

A return to the top was a distant dream amid the dramas of two groundshares with Northampton and Birmingham, a detested ownership in Sisu, multiple protests and parliamentary mentions.

Sky Blues fans organised marches while there were also pitch invasions against an ownership who sold to Doug King in 2023 after 13 years, during which the club dropped to the fourth tier for the first time in 59 years.

Their resurrection comes under Frank Lampard and, after sealing their promotion on Friday with a 1-1 draw at Blackburn, the Sky Blues can celebrate again.

Lampard's Sky Blue impact

Image caption,

Coventry secured promotion at Blackburn on Friday night

Coventry have surprised themselves. Sources acknowledge there was cautious optimism at the start of the season but they did not expect such success so quickly.

The foundations were laid during pre-season, with Lampard's calming influence crucial in his first summer with the group, having replaced fan favourite Mark Robins in November 2024.

Goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, who joined on loan from Brighton, has made the biggest impact but the team is largely the same from last term despite the mid-season loan additions of Romain Esse and Frank Onyeka.

Insiders have been impressed with how Lampard has taken the squad on after last season's disappointment. Within the group, the goal of automatic promotion changed to winning the title after they cemented themselves in the top two.

Lampard got the job ahead of former player John Eustace, with owner King a huge admirer.

King has an office at the training ground, where he is a regular presence, chatting with staff, knowing them all by name.

He will often be seen in the canteen making coffee and talking to the chef. There is no separate area for the first team, and that has encouraged an inclusive atmosphere at Sky Blue Lodge.

For the players, the training ground has become a place to build team spirit - an upgraded, expanded gym allows them all to train at the same time. To use the old gym, they used to take turns in groups.

Even the drive into the training ground has been upgraded in recent years - a sleek, professional, well-lit set-up replacing the old unkempt grassy banks.

Image caption,

Frank Lampard faced Coventry with West Ham and Chelsea as a player

Lampard has the aura of a player who has won the lot in club football. His influence convinced players to sign for Coventry when they had other options.

Part of Lampard's job has been to ensure his players - both the new signings and those more established - still feel part of the group when they have not been playing much.

He has helped inspire players like Brandon Thomas-Asante, who could have left for Blackburn and Derby last year, to double his goalscoring tally from last season.

Lampard believed he could improve the forward having seen how the former Salford man's attitude and commitment.

Sources have spoken about the belief he has given other players, especially after last season's late semi-final heartbreak against Sunderland.

It took them some time to recover, especially with minimal changes in the summer, but those close to the squad feel Lampard was able to handle that disappointment and pass on his advice because of his recent playing career and experience.

He has also ensured Jake Bidwell, who has made almost 150 appearances for the club, and Jamie Allen, a seven-year Coventry veteran of nearly 200 games, have been kept close despite their lack of game time.

Along with goalkeeper Ben Wilson, the trio have been motivating presences in the dressing room and on the touchline, highlighting the squad strength and Lampard's people management skills.

Captain Matt Grimes has also delivered motivational messages to the squad - including inspirational talks about other title-winning sides - which have proved crucial, especially when the side had a wobble in January.

Ultimately, all of the players trust Lampard, even though they know there will be changes in the summer to prepare for the top flight.

Handling the pressure

The manager, for his part, has protected his players from the promotion pressure.

He said: "I try to be simple and direct about it. I don't like to talk too much. My situation 15 years ago in a big game is maybe different to theirs but maybe it's one of the positives of having a long career and then becoming a manager. You have lived it.

"I can give some personal reflections or words which can impact the players. I have been here before. Every game is a banana skin if you don't approach it in the right way - if you either relax or allow the pressure to overcome you.

"So I try to keep it simple and if I feel it's time for a little bit of a poke, I can give them a poke.

"I get on well with them, I think I do. I can give them that poke and sometimes you try to find the right situation."

Those pokes have been rarely needed this season. They have lost successive league games just once, suffering defeats by Norwich and QPR in January as a 10-point lead evaporated.

Middlesbrough were level on 58 points at the end of January. Since then, Coventry have lost once in 13, winning eight of them.

Boro even went top in February but Coventry them beat them 3-1 to regain control.

In the past 99 seasons, Coventry have won five successive games only five times - three of them have come under Lampard this season after another streak last term.

"You're welcome," he joked. "I'm happy, of course I am, it's should reflect on the players and the staff.

"Me, Chris [Jones] and Joe [Edwards] drove up here a year-and-a-bit ago and it was all new to us as well.

"We have enjoyed it but the boys and everyone have worked so hard. The players are the ones who deliver."

Of the changes Lampard has driven, none have been bigger than shifting the pessimistic Sky Blue thinking.

After numerous blows on and off the field in the past decade - despite now three promotions in eight years - Coventry fans could be forgiven for their gloomy outlook. Reclaiming a top-flight place has restored belief.

"I watched them come down the leagues. Maybe the fans are entitled to have the syndrome," said Lampard.

"I grew up a West Ham fan and it was similar, in a different way, as they reflected on 1966, I went to Everton for a year and it was similar.

"It's human nature. Maybe it's British culture - what's round the corner, expect the worst - but I get it.

"It's part of the fun - it doesn't sound fun but you've got to suffer to enjoy the good stuff."