‘It surprised me’ – Coventry City move for Frank Lampard assessed by former EFL boss
Coventry City boss Frank Lampard has been backed to succeed by former EFL manager Graham Westley.
Coventry City have turned to the former Premier League man as their replacement for Mark Robins.
Lampard, 46, penned a two-and-a-half year contract with the Championship side.
Ex-Preston North End, Stevenage and Peterborough United man Westley has written in the Football League Paper (08.12.24, page 39): “It surprised me that Frank moved to Coventry, but the decision is a symbol of three very important things to me: 1. He acknowledges that his most recent gigs have damaged him a little bit and he has the courage to face that. 2. He knows that a manager needs to be in work to develop his skills and he genuinely wants to get better. 3. He is humble enough to step backwards and try to prove himself once more.
“Frank Lampard is nobody’s fool. He’s a wealthy man who is clearly determined to make himself a success once again in his passion space. If I was an odds maker, I’d be reckoning Coventry will move upwards from where they are. Frank has all the ingredients to push things on and I believe he might surprise his doubters.”
Coventry City boss assessed
As a player, Lampard played over 900 games as a midfielder for West Ham, Chelsea, Manchester City and New York City.
He hung up his boots in 2016 and got his first managerial role in the game at Derby County.
The ex-England international guided the Rams to the play-off final during his time at Pride Park.
However, they were denied promotion to the Premier League after losing to Aston Villa at Wembley.
Lampard subsequently landed the Chelsea job and spent two years with the London outfit before having a spell at Everton.
He moved back to Stamford Bridge on an interim basis last year.
Coventry City have now given him another opportunity in the second tier and he will be eager to show what he can do again.
What now?
The Sky Blues drew 2-2 at home to Cardiff City in his first game before they won 1-0 away at Millwall over the weekend.
Lampard’s men are back in action on Wednesday with an away trip to The Hawthorns to face West Brom. Their upcoming opponents have drawn 10 of their last 11.
Coventry City then lock horns with Hull City on Saturday.
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