CURTIS Davies believes Coventry City boss Frank Lampard has created a ‘family feel’ at the Sky Blues after clinching promotion as champions.
Davies, along with fellow EFL pundits Jay Bothroyd and Jobi McAnuff, heaped praise on Lampard for taking Coventry back to the Premier League after a 25-year absence.
The defender played under Lampard at Derby County and praised the latter’s ability to bounce back from disappointment after Coventry suffered a cruel play-off semi-final defeat at the end of the previous campaign.
Davies said: “It’s what they’ve deserved all season.
“The recovery from last year, in terms of the job Frank has done, they lost the play-offs in such a bad fashion.
“They were the better team in both legs against Sunderland and lost to a last-minute goal and it was about bouncing back again.
“Frank’s done that. He’s added a couple of players to the group but not too many and they’ve gone and run away with it.
“This group has become a family. Frank has brought that family feel into the group.
“They’ve always lent on someone else to do the job and they’ve always come up trumps.
“People were questioning when he got the Coventry job ‘is he worthy of it?’.
“His one previous season in the EFL, he got his team to the play-offs.
“He obviously looked at the Coventry job, he was sold the job and thought of everything Mark Robins did before to lay the foundations.
“He knew it would be a good job to go in there, implement his way and that’s what he’s done ever since he’s been here.”
Former Coventry striker Bothroyd believes the signing of midfielder Frank Onyeka in the January transfer window helped reignite the club’s promotion push.
And Bothroyd expects Lampard to use his nous as a player and a manager to identify the right players in the summer.
Bothroyd said: “Frank has brought the right players in that fit into the squad.
“Not only with the quality but the harmony as well. You need good players in the dressing room.
“The signing of [Frank] Onyeka in January was amazing. He brought strength and toughness into that midfield area.
“They’re the best scorers in the league, they’re solid. It’s really great for them.
“Frank Lampard as a manager, he takes all the ego’s away from the squad purely because of what he’s achieved as a player.
“Frank Lampard was one of the best midfielders the Premier League has ever seen.
“He can identify good players, top players and I’m sure, now they’re going into the Premier League, they’re going to identify more players.”
Former Championship title winner McAnuff felt Lampard took a risk in taking the manager’s job at Coventry back in November 2024.
However, McAnuff believes Lampard’s winner’s mentality sets him apart from other former top-level players who have made the switch to management.
McAnuff said: “It was a big job for Frank. Off the back of the last couple of jobs at Everton and Chelsea.
“There was a risk attached to it. That’s why there were a few questions.
“That’s why it means so much to him because he is a winner. He wants to succeed in management.
“We’ve seen so many top-level players dip their toe in management maybe get burned, do they want to go back?
“Like he did in his playing career, he said ‘I’m going to be a success’ and the weight that has in the changing room is absolutely huge.”
