FRANK Lampard admits the weight of expectation may have affected Coventry City’s performance after the Sky Blues missed the chance to seal promotion.
Coventry could only manage a goalless draw against already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
A win would have sealed promotion for Frank Lampard’s side after Millwall could only draw against West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough slipped to a shock home defeat against Portsmouth.
Results elsewhere mean the Sky Blues need just one point from their remaining four matches to seal a return to the Premier League.
And Lampard admits his players may have struggled to deal with the added tension surrounding the fixture.
Lampard said: “If you look at the individual game, we’re frustrated.
“We created enough to score but we weren’t quite at our sharpest at the top of the pitch.
“It’s normal to feel frustrated with the position of us and them but we have to temper that with where we are in the big picture.
“It’s a good thing we’re frustrated and we’re fighting to try and get automatic promotion.
“Maybe there was a bit of tension and expectancy, it’s new for a lot of the players.
“We’ve got four games to go. We know what it is, it’s in our hands and we have to do it.”
The closest City came to a goal saw Liam Kitching have a header cleared off the line while Ellis Simms hit the post at the death.
And Lampard admits the Sky Blues lacked their usual verve against the Owls in an uncharacteristic display.
Lampard added: “When you go over the game, in terms of the possession and expected chances, a normal us would score goals.
“We definitely lacked zip around the top end of the pitch and the counter pressing and speed of our reactions was slightly down.
“There was so much talk around [the game], it’s a different thing for the players to handle so we have to give them a bit of an out for that.
“The players are learning and living this experience for the first time of expectancy and getting promoted with a club that has not been [in the Premier League] for a long time.”
Coventry are next in action against Blackburn Rovers on Friday, April 17th with kick-off at 8pm at Ewood Park.
