Frank Lampard: Coventry appoint former Chelsea and Everton boss as successor to Mark Robins

Frank Lampard has been appointed as the new head coach of Coventry City.

The 46-year-old has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract to replace Mark Robins, who was sacked earlier this month after seven years in charge.

Lampard has been out of work since leaving Chelsea for a second time after taking charge on an interim basis following Graham Potter's sacking in 2023.

But speaking at a press conference on Thursday, the former England midfielder said he was "refreshed and ready to go".

"I'm absolutely delighted to be here. It's a club I have huge respect for in terms of its history and tradition," said Lampard.

"I grew up in an era where Coventry were very successful and to be given the role of head coach is a huge deal for me.

"The work that Mark [Robins] did and the work Doug King is doing at the top of the club... it's an ambitious club which wants to move forward, and I want to help as much as I can.

"There was a lot of speculation over a couple of weeks but it's important to say it was a clear process of the club trying to find the right way forward. I've had conversations with the owner and the important people at the club.

"I've got my idea of how I work, how I coach, the experience of that over the last four or five years."

On the style of play he hopes to implement, Lampard said: "In time, I want to bring an exciting and attacking team for them to see; a possession-based team that also wants to attack and attack quickly at times.

"I want to excite the fans and that's certainly what I want to work towards, and of course we want to be an aggressive team that wants to win the ball high up the pitch."

Coventry City owner and executive chairman Doug King added: "I am delighted that Frank Lampard has agreed to join our club as head coach. Frank cut his teeth in the Championship and knows what is needed in this league to be successful.

"His experiences thereafter at Chelsea and Everton will ensure he brings to our talented squad clear understanding of exactly what is needed to succeed at the very top level that we as a club are striving to reach."

Lampard will be joined by coaches Joe Edwards and Chris Jones, with whom he has worked previously.

Coventry City may well provide Frank Lampard with a last chance in management in England. He simply has to be a success, especially after the stature of Mark Robins among the fan base and the expectations of the owners, writes Sky Sports' EFL editor Simeon Gholam.

"When Coventry City got rid of Mark Robins - one of the greatest managers in their history - not many would have predicted Frank Lampard to be next in the door at the CBS Arena.

"Frankly - excuse the pun - it didn't seem likely that Lampard would be getting another chance in this country for a while.

"His managerial career started reasonably enough at Championship level with Derby, where a team built around loanees Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount and Harry Wilson eventually missed out on promotion in the play-off final to Aston Villa.

"An impressive first season at Chelsea, where he took a young team to fourth after losing Eden Hazard and being under transfer embargo, quickly unravelled the following year.

"The 46-year-old has been out of management for 18 months. Considering the plethora of opportunities elsewhere for a legend of the game, you wouldn't have blamed him for deciding it wasn't worth it.

"Clearly, however, Lampard has other ideas. He is determined to succeed."

Read the full feature here

Sky Sports' Paul Merson speaking on The Football Show:

"I like Frank as a manager. People forget what he did at Chelsea the first time round. They had a transfer embargo and the players he brought through were amazing.

"I think this is a good job. I think he can get these rolling, they're in a false position Coventry, and they could go on a run. If they do, who knows if they could get in the play-offs - there's a long way to go in the Championship.

"We're talking about the lad at Hull, Tim Walter, who came in from Germany. It's hard, it's the second-best tiered league in the world, there's no league like it.

"You go to Serie A and LaLiga, their leagues below are nowhere near the standard. You have to know your football, you have to have the knowledge, and it does help being an English manager.

"You don't have time to settle, the games come thick and fast. The international breaks are over until March and it is relentless.

"I played in this league a couple of times, the games really come thick and fast. It's the same with players; you buy a foreign player, you've got to give them time to settle. You don't get that time when you're playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday."

Robins was the third longest-serving manager in English football before his sacking by Coventry after the 2-1 home defeat by Derby County.

Robins joined the club in 2017 and took them from League Two to the Championship - and one game away from the Premier League in 2023 where they were beaten 1-0 by Luton in the second-tier play-off final.

Of the decision to sack Robins, King said: "I didn't get much sleep that night at all.

"I was talking it through in my mind as to whether it was the right moment and was I right to do it, but frankly, I knew it was the right thing to do.

"I did slightly want to give this club a jolt and say, 'We are going to change some directions'. We can't just say it is all going to get better in the end and we'll go up the league and be around the play-offs, unless we take control of it and we make it happen.

"Obviously, it's taken everyone at the club and outside by surprise. The reaction has been a little more than I anticipated.

"Honesty, it was unpleasant for me to do that because I really like Mark. I know what he has done here and the respect he has here, and I really wish I hadn't been in that position."

Coventry started life without Robins with a 2-2 draw at Championship leaders Sunderland on Saturday.