Coventry City boss Frank Lampard has admitted that he is “not at all” surprised by Sunderland’s success this season, suggesting that the Black Cats “very much deserve” to be in the hunt for promotion from the Championship.

Regis Le Bris takes his side to the West Midlands on Saturday afternoon, and will be hoping to return to winning ways following a frustrating 1-1 draw with Preston North End on Tuesday evening. For their part, Coventry unexpectedly lost to relegation-threatened Derby County in midweek, but have otherwise been going well under Lampard in recent weeks, and head into this weekend’s contest two places and 13 points behind Sunderland in the table, with their play-off hopes still very much intact.

And assessing the Black Cats prior to Saturday’s match, the former England midfielder was quick to praise Le Bris and his side for the manner in which they have inserted themselves into the promotion picture this term.

And assessing the Black Cats prior to Saturday’s match, the former England midfielder was quick to praise Le Bris and his side for the manner in which they have inserted themselves into the promotion picture this term.

“For sure. It has to be exciting for us, because we’ve got ourselves in this position. We, as I say, can continue with the belief of how we’ve been playing in front of our home crowd. You know, we have to believe in ourselves. We have to give every drop going into the international break to try and get the result that we want.”

The last time the two sides met, Sunderland squandered a two-goal lead at the Stadium of Light to draw 2-2 back in November. That match was also notable for the Black Cats insofar that they suffered a double injury blow to Romaine Mundle and Alan Browne, both of whom have returned to the first team fold in recent weeks.