‘All the disappointments and they’ve stuck with the club’ – Frank Lampard after guiding Coventry to Premier League

‘All the disappointments and they’ve stuck with the club’ – Frank Lampard after guiding Coventry to Premier League

Frank Lampard says he is delighted for the Coventry City fans after “all the disappointments” they have been though, having secured promotion to the Premier League.

Coventry secured a 1-1 draw against Blackburn and confirmed their return to the Premier League as Bobby Thomas scored late on to cancel out Ryoya Morishita’s close-range finish in the 54th minute.

“Wow. This club after 25 years (in the Premier League),” the Coventry boss said.

“It’s incredible, the stresses and strains, the worries. We knew we were nearly there, but to get it over the line like this. I’ve talked about the fanbase and what they’ve gone through, all the disappointments, and they’ve stuck with the club. Now they get this moment.

“We came in 15 months ago with the team 17th in the league and now to get automatic promotion, it’s huge.”

The Coventry boss also heaped praise on his players for their efforts and dealing with the competitiveness of the Championship. He said: “They’ve listened, they’ve trained, everything they’ve done every day… it makes me feel emotional because they’re so great to work with.

“This league is hard, it’s getting harder and these boys have managed to achieve something pretty unique.”

“I am proud… I’m proud of myself and the staff… to do this with this club, in these circumstances.”

He contrasted it with his previous successes as a player, suggesting this accomplishment holds a different kind of value.

“I was fortunate to be in great teams… but to do this, with this club… it feels like overachieving.”

Even amid the celebrations, Lampard made clear the job is not yet finished.

“They deserve to celebrate… but we’ve got to get our heads back on it.”