FOOTBALL – Frank Lampard wants to prove his doubters wrong ahead of first game in charge of Coventry City
FRANK Lampard wants to prove his doubters wrong ahead of his first game in charge of Coventry City this weekend.
Lampard addressed the media for the first time since his appointment as Sky Blues head coach at a packed press conference at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
And the 46-year-old hopes the Sky Blues can discover that winning feeling quickly as he prepares to make his return to the dugout against Cardiff City tomorrow (Saturday, November 30, kick-off 3pm).
Lampard said: “My answer to any people [doubting me] would always be ‘just give me a chance to work’.
“People are very entitled to their opinion, what’s important to me is to work with my idea and it hopefully will be very visible what I’m trying to do.
“Our first step is to win games, winning helps everything else, it helps the training, the development and the feeling, everybody together.
We have to try and find that as quickly as we can.
“It’s very important to stay level-headed in difficult times to keep moving in a forward direction, I’m ready for that.”
Lampard replaces former Sky Blues boss Mark Robins who guided the club to two promotions, a Championship play-off final and an FA Cup semi-final during his near eight year tenure.
And Lampard hopes he can build on the foundations laid down by Robins and paid respect to the work done by the former Coventry manager.
Lampard added: “I’ve got complete respect for the job Mark [Robins] did here, you can only give credit, understanding the rigours of this job, to be here for such a long time and to have the success, momentum and movement was a huge thing.
“I like to look at it as a point of ‘can I pick up the good work that he did in his own way’, it’s a tactically adaptable squad, used to playing in different formations and well-recruited under his tenure as manager.
“That’s something that’s good, you’re coming to work off the back of someone who has laid some foundations, I’m very aware of it.
“I only want to come here and work hard to give my best to this club, I have absolute respect for what Mark did over his time here.
“I feel refreshed and ready to go, being out of the game you have valuable learning time of seeing the game from the outside, reflecting on things and trying to be better.
“I learnt a huge amount [at Derby], it’s hard to compare [this job] directly but there’s a feeling of warmth and where we want to get to which is what I felt at Derby.”
Lampard reached the Championship play-off final with Derby County in his first season as a manager in 2018/19.
He then managed former club Chelsea and Everton in the Premier League, helping the Blues to a Champions League finish and FA Cup final, while he guided the Toffees to top-flight safety.
A second stint in charge of Chelsea as caretaker manager at the end of the 2022/23 season saw him claim just one win from 11 matches.
However, Lampard insists he has learned from his previous experiences in the dugout.
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