‘Won’t forget’ – Frank Lampard issues brilliant message as Coventry City boss endears himself.
Coventry City news from CoventryLive as manager marks three month in CBS Arena hot seat by addressing supporters.
Frank Lampard sent out a video ‘thank you’ message to Coventry City fans to mark being in the job for three months.
Although arriving as a high profile appointment, the Chelsea and England playing legend still had big boots to fill by following in the footsteps of Mark Robins and what the popular manager had done in his seven years at the club.
But after lifting the squad up from two points off the bottom three when he first arrived to a point and place outside the play-offs in his first 12/13 weeks in charge, Lampard has quickly endeared himself to Sky Blues supporters as the man whose picked up the baton and got the club back on track towards pushing for promotion.
READ MORE: Car crash setback for ‘really interesting’ Coventry City prospect
READ MORE: Lampard addresses prospect of playing duo together for first time
Asked what the City have fans meant to him in this first three months, the 46-year-old head coach said: “Well, they’ve been amazing for me and for the team because I absolutely respect the relationship and feeling they had to Mark Robins who had an incredible managerial career here in terms of the journey of the club. And that time, and some tough times, and the success that he had and the nearly moments of the play-off final and the FA Cup semi-final, and I have full awareness of that.
“And all I’ve done really is try to come in and work and engage with the club. It’s kind of what I’ve always done in the clubs I’ve worked with. It’s been really easy to because of people behind the scenes, staff and players, and also the fans because they’ve been very supportive of the team and myself.”
Lampard’s first real connection with the Sky Blue Army came in only his second game in charge – a 1-0 win at The Den – when he was urged by Milan van Ewijk to address the fans with the now customary post-match fist pumps.
Promoted Stories
“I won’t forget the first game I went to Millwall,” he said. “To see the away fans and how great they were, and that’s continued since. And thankfully we’ve been able to give them something to get excited about.
“You could sort of sense that in the CBS against Preston last week and you can sense it in the rhetoric around the club at the minute. So, yeah, I’m generally thankful for that, but I understand that I’ve got my job to continue doing because I want to make them happy every week. It’s not always easy, but that’s the challenge ahead.”
Asked if he felt he had to win over the supporters when he came in, he said: “I don’t think any job now in modern management, the conversation about a change in manager is so open now and so everyone’s got an opinion on it and I think whatever job you may go to or whatever and mess… Unless it’s Pep Guardiola walking through the door, the rest of us have all, and rightly so, got to prove our place and our work and what it means and the results of it. So I was aware of that, coming in.
“It’s a good challenge and what it should be at this level and competition, and if you get a job you respect the level of the job and you want to do well in it. But the feeling I’ve had since I’ve been here is that the people are understanding what we’re trying to do. So, let’s keep trying to do it.
