Coventry miss opportunity to officially secure promotion
Coventry hosted Sheffield Wednesday, who suffered the Championship's earliest relegation in February and remain on a negative amount of points following a series of deductions, on Saturday lunchtime, knowing they would be promoted if they won and fourth-placed Middlesbrough didn't later that day. However, Lampard's men were held to a 0-0 draw. Boro's late 1-0 loss to Portsmouth does, however, mean that the Sky Blues are practically promoted and can begin planning for life in the Premier League.
Lampard wary of pressure on players
Speaking after Coventry's draw but before Middlesbrough's surprise defeat, Lampard claimed his players were impacted by the weight of expectation on them, while Sheffield Wednesday could play without any sort of pressure.
"I think there's understandable elements to the game, there's a bit of tension to do that and a lot of the players are probably living this situation for the first time," Lampard said.
"When are you going to do it, the expectancy to do it, and maybe there was a small effect on the game. To not win when three points are there, you create the chances we did but without having the usual snappy sharpness we have at the top of the pitch makes it a bit frustrating.
"We obviously created enough to win the game but we didn't quite do it, and you have to credit the opposition for making it difficult for you. When a team has nothing to gain, they also have nothing to lose. I think they've got a manager that's very driven, trying to do his job as well as he possibly can, so they were always going to make it as difficult as they possibly could.
"Unfortunately we couldn't get the breakthrough even with the possession, the crosses and the chances that we had.
"We normally score here, we normally win games here, so we have to keep a bit of perspective. But specifically for the players, because I know there's a pressure and everyone wants to release the pressure by getting it done and now we have to move onto the next one."
Coventry's wait for Premier League return nearly over
Coventry were relegated from the Premier League in 2001 and haven't returned since. In that period, they have left their spiritual Highfield Road ground, twice had to leave their new CBS Stadium and played in the fourth tier of English football.
The Sky Blues were nearly promoted back to the top flight in 2023 having reached the play-off final, losing to Luton Town on penalties. Last season, Lampard took over from popular manager Mark Robins and guided Coventry to the play-offs again, where they were beaten by Sunderland in the semi-finals.
When can Coventry be promoted?
Lampard's Coventry return to action on Friday night away at Blackburn Rovers. A draw would be enough to officially book their spot in the Premier League. They also remain 10 points clear of Ipswich Town as they set their sights on the Championship title, though the Tractor Boys have two games in hand.