FRANK LAMPARD regathered his troops with ONE text after Coventry City’s exit from the Championship play-offs last season.
This campaign has been a fairy tale for Lampard and his men in the West Midlands as they secured promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 25 years.
Frank Lampard led Coventry City to promotion after a dramatic exit from play-offs in 2025 Credit: Getty
Dan Ballard scored the goal that sealed another Championship season for the Sky Blues in 2025 Credit: Getty
But 12 months ago, Dan Ballard’s 122nd-minute winner sealed a 3-2 aggregate victory – and a semi-finals for .
As the Sky Blues waved goodbye to promotion, Lampard was keen to maintain his players’ optimism and drive ahead of what would be a .
Speaking to talkSPORT, the Coventry boss said: “I saw their faces at Sunderland, it was a really difficult night because of the nature of the last-minute (goal), their faces were devastated after the game.
“Not many have played in the Premier League, they were desperate to get there.
“We all went back to the training ground, we all left at 3 am, it was a bit surreal, it was, ‘Ah, we’re not going to see each other for a while’.
“So, I think I probably leaned on my experience of being a player.
“I’m very fortunate at , we had this successful team that every year if we came second or didn’t win cups, or whatever, I would sit in the dressing room with myself and John (Terry), and Ashley (Cole), and the group, and we’d be like, ‘What’s next? That’s not good enough, we want more’.
“So, I’ve naturally got that instinct of getting straight on to the next thing, so I sent the boys a little message in the group (chat).
“A day or so after, I was like, ‘Lads, you’ve been brilliant. Bring your runners because we need pre-season to be… we need to be a physical machine and take steps forward’.
“That was my feeling. With the players, we’ve got such a good group here.
“I knew we needed to keep the group together, but I didn’t feel the need to ring up Matt Grimes or ring up Bobby Thomas, or (Jack) Rudoni.
“I knew that they would hurt a bit and go away, and I knew that they would be together, and I knew that there’s a good part of this dressing room that leads itself.”
Coventry are due to play on Saturday in the last game of their season, having already sealed promotion.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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