Coventry City fans are having to very quickly come to terms with the exit of Mark Robins from the managerial dug-out, anxious about what the immediate future of the Sky Blues looks like without the steady 54-year-old guiding the ship.
The managerless outfit did show some fight away at Sunderland during interim boss Rhys Carr’s first taste of Championship action this weekend, managing to salvage a 2-2 draw away at the table-topping Black Cats, but there were still vocal cries of Robins’ name after the match from the Coventry supporters to suggest the travelling contingent were still grieving.
Football is a sport that waits for nobody, however, with reports now suggesting that the Championship underperformers are getting close to appointing a quickfire replacement.
The frontrunner to replace Robins
Many names have been thrown about to replace the much-loved Coventry figure, including the likes of Lee Carsley and Matt Bloomfield among others, with the options plentiful for the powers that be at the CBS Arena.
Yet, it seems they’ve found their man now in the form of Frank Lampard, which could prove to be a controversial appointment considering his recent managerial failures in the league above with Everton and Chelsea.
Still, he shouldn’t be written off completely, with the Mirror stating that Lampard is ‘closing in’ on the Sky Blues vacancy, with plenty of time for him to get up to speed with things in the West Midlands owing to the international break.
Lampard has also been a success in the second tier in the past with Derby County, taking them to a playoff final in 2019 that saw them dance with the thought of promotion, only for Aston Villa to run out as 2-0 victors at Wembley.
Coventry could soon see the divisive 46-year-old enter through the door, therefore, with the likes of Haji Wright perhaps benefitting even more in an attacking sense from the suspected arrival of the ex-Everton boss.
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How Lampard would benefit Haji Wright at Coventry
Wright has been having a bright season even if the Sky Blues have fallen short of expectations with some results, with the American netting six strikes from 16 games, on top of picking up an assist.
Confident playing out on the left wing or as a traditional centre-forward, Lampard may well want Wright to play more down the channels if he does join shortly, as his exciting Rams team dazzled many a second-tier defence with tricky attackers on the flanks.
Derby’s top scorers (18/19) | |
|---|---|
Player | Goals scored |
1. Harry Wilson | 15 |
2. Martyn Waghorn | 9 |
3. Mason Mount | 8 |
4. Jack Marriott | 7 |
5. Tom Lawrence | 6 |
Sourced by Transfermarkt | |
Looking at the table above, a striker didn’t lead the goalscoring charts during Lampard’s one and only season at Pride Park, with Harry Wilson – before he exploded into life in the Premier League – helping himself to a stunning 15 strikes all from down the wing.
It was an enthralling Derby team to watch when it came to their numbers in attack, away from just Wilson hitting double figures, with the Rams accumulating 103 strikes from 57 games the 46-year-old took charge of.
With Wright bagging 16 goals last season in league action interchanging between duties on the left wing and playing up top, Lampard will make it his mission to get even more out of the entertaining American, if he does make the Sky Blues dug-out his own very soon.
Lampard also got the best out of a whole host of attacking midfielders such as Mason Mount and Tom Lawrence, with Victor Torp also wanting his game to be taken to the next level under a fresh manager.
With Jurgen Klopp once describing the former Chelsea boss as “exceptional” when succeeding during his first stint as manager at Stamford Bridge, patience would have to be exercised on the end of Coventry fans to not disregard this appointment from the get-go.
If he’s given time, Coventry could launch themselves into the playoff picture, with Robins’ exit then stinging a lot less.
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