Pep Guardiola told Frank Lampard that he was destined to be a great manager, and his Coventry City squad is currently on the verge of promotion to the Premier League.
Since joining the Sky Blues as head coach in November 2024, the Chelsea legend has dramatically transformed the club’s fortunes. The former England international took over as Championship club placed 17th and guided them to a fifth-place finish before losing to eventual play-off champions Sunderland in their semi-final match.
However, Coventry has already established themselves as the greatest team in the second tier, thus there will be no requirement for them to compete in the play-offs this season. Following a 0-0 draw with Hull City on Monday, they are now four points away from promotion to the Premier League for the first time since the 2000/01 season.
They can secure promotion on Saturday if they beat bottom club Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough, and Millwall lose points in their respective games against Portsmouth and West Brom.
Lampard’s appointment at the CBS Arena was his fifth managerial position and his second in the Championship, following a one-year spell at Derby County. But during his first stint at Chelsea, Guardiola delivered him the ultimate compliment.
Despite a transfer ban, the 47-year-old won Champions League qualification in his first season with his former club, with the Manchester City manager praising Lampard’s decision-making.
Guardiola remarked: Frank Lampard was an exceptional football player who will make an excellent manager. He had a very terrific season, and I enjoyed watching his team. They are the cream of European football.
When you begin as a manager, you are full of enthusiasm and have no concerns. You make decisions without compromise, as he has done by providing possibilities to the young, gifted players that Chelsea has since the academy performed exceptionally well in the last five to ten years.
Ahead of Coventry’s expected advancement to the top division, financial expert Kieran Maguire calculated how lucrative promotion would be for the team. Speaking with CoventryLive about Coventry’s existing proportion of the EFL’s TV deal, he said: In terms of the club’s benefit, they receive about £12 million from the broadcast rights.
You can add at least £100 million to that amount. And it rises by an additional £2. 5 million to £3 million for each position higher up the league. So the minimum is £100 million.
I believe you could contribute an additional £15 million to £20 million for the club’s commercial operations. That front-of-shirt arrangement becomes even more appealing because you will be broadcast to approximately 200 nations worldwide.
And you’re acting as a billboard. Coventry have only lost one of their previous 11 league games and will face a Wednesday squad that has only won once all season, back in September.
