"Goes against everything" - Cautious Derby County reaction offered to big Coventry City, Frank Lampard news | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County fan pundit is skeptical about Coventry City lining up Frank Lampard to replace Mark Robins

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Coventry City have been warned by FLW's Derby County fan pundit about appointing ex-Rams manager Frank Lampard, who is poised to succeed Mark Robins following crucial recent developments.

The Sky Blues made the hugely-controversial decision to part ways with Robins, who had been the EFL's longest-serving manager, on Thursday morning after more than seven years of service.

Robins returned to the West Midlands for a second spell in 2017 and eventually guided Coventry out of the depths of League Two and all the way to a Championship play-off final six years later in May 2023, while they were also just one penalty-kick away from an FA Cup final at the end of last season after mounting a stunning comeback from three goals down against Manchester United at Wembley.

Widely regarded as a modern-day legend at the CBS Arena, Robins' dismissal has prompted significant backlash among both club and neutral supporters, who have collectively lamented the judgment call to hand the 54-year-old his marching orders despite Coventry's slow start to the 2024/25 Championship campaign, where they have failed to come close to realising their promotion ambitions thus far.

However, Doug King hasn't wasted time in the hunt for a new permanent manager and Frank Lampard is now primed to replace Robins at Coventry, according to reports.

Frank Lampard set to replace Mark Robins at Coventry City

As per a recent report by the Mirror, Lampard is expected to head into the Sky Blues hot-seat following the sacking of Robins. The report claims that the former Chelsea midfield star is King's number-one choice to succeed Robins, with the Coventry owner eager to land an experienced and established name in the job.

Lampard has been out of work for more than a year after leaving Chelsea for the second time at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, having been brought in on a short-term basis following the sacking of Graham Potter. He won just one of his remaining eleven matches during his second managerial stint with the club.

The 46-year-old previously endured a difficult twelve-month spell with top-flight strugglers Everton, whom he joined after first heading out of the Stamford Bridge exit door in January 2021 following a year-and-a-half in the job, having taken Chelsea to fourth in the Premier League in his first season.

The 106-cap ex-England international launched his managerial career at Derby County in the Championship, though, spending just one year in the East Midlands before returning to Chelsea.

Lampard, who possessed an extremely talented squad by Championship standards in the 2018/19 season after utilising his pedigree and connections to strike loan deals for the likes of Harry Wilson, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori, took Derby to the play-off final, where they were undone by Aston Villa.

Having ultimately failed to gain promotion with the most talented squad Derby were blessed with in many a year before jumping ship after just one year, Lampard's relationship with supporters is mixed to this day and there are question marks from Derbyshire regarding his loyalty and commitment to the cause.

Derby County verdict offered on Frank Lampard, Coventry City development

With Lampard's single-season spell at Pride Park in mind, we decided to ask our resident Rams fan pundit, Shaun Woodward, to offer his verdict on the ex-Derby boss being poised to return to management with Championship rivals Coventry.

Football League World.

"They've built a sustainable club, bringing in players over a period of time to improve them and they've done things with a plan. I think with Frank Lampard going in, it would be very much 'right, you've got one season to get us promoted', because his name alone would bring in some quality signings in January, just like he did at Derby, he'd get some good loan signings from the Premier League.

"They would expect him to get that squad that they've already got, with some additions, into the play-offs at least, with a shot of getting to the Premier League. The problem would be, if they don't go up, is he the right kind of manager that's going to spend two, three, four years rebuilding it again like Robins did?

"They are such different conditions. With Lampard, it might work and he might get them promoted but if he doesn't, he wouldn't be the manager they'd want long-term.

"It's a gamble. It depends which way you look at it, it's exciting in a way but if it backfires they could go back two, three, four steps and end up struggling, which would be a shame after what they've done in recent years.