What to expect from Frank Lampard at Coventry City: Tactics, style of play, player development

Frank Lampard is the man tasked with reigniting Coventry City's charge towards the Premier League after being unveiled as the club's new manager.

Chelsea's record goalscorer succeeds the popular Mark Robins, who was surprisingly dismissed at the start of November after almost eight years in charge.

The Sky Blues languish in 17th and 10 points adrift of a play-off berth at the time of Lampard's appointment.

We've dived into Lampard's managerial credentials and taken a look at what the former Derby County and Everton boss will bring to the CBS Arena.

Frank Lampard managerial profile

Lampard sampled his first taste of management with Derby County in 2018 and, with the help of his extensive contacts book, assembled an exciting squad which consisted of loan signings Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Harry Wilson.

The result was a date at Wembley for the Championship play-off final, though the Rams succumbed to defeat against Aston Villa.

After cutting his teeth in the second tier with Derby, Lampard returned to Chelsea to oversee a transitional period for the club. Despite operating under a transfer ban, he guided the Blues to fourth in the Premier League and an FA Cup final.

Initially starting the 2020/21 season strongly, Lampard was dismissed following a run of two wins in eight matches which saw Chelsea plummet to ninth.

The Premier League Hall of Famer was out of work for a year before a vacancy arose at Everton. With the club loitering perilously above the relegation zone, Lampard managed to preserve Everton's Premier League status with one match to spare.

With hopes of an upturn in fortune for the subsequent campaign, Everton once again found themselves embroiled in a relegation battle and Lampard was sacked in January with the Toffees in 19th.

Lampard returned to Chelsea on a caretaker basis in April 2023 but endured an underwhelming stint in SW6, winning one of his 11 matches in charge.

Frank Lampard tactics & style of play

Implementing a possession-based approach at Derby and Chelsea, Lampard was forced to navigate away from those principles in his first season at Everton as he attempted to concoct a blueprint that would make the Toffees more resilient.

He unearthed a system that made Everton tougher to break down while offering a threat on transition and they accumulated 10 points from five matches to ultimately stave off relegation.

The next season Lampard attempted to make the Toffees a more progressive outfit but this came at a cost. Everton lacked purpose in possession and a greater emphasis on attack weakened their defensive foundations.

At Coventry, Lampard will have the opportunity to return to the possession-focused style he incorporated in his first two managerial gigs.

His preferred formation fluctuates between a 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1, with an emphasis on attacking full-backs, playing with width and supplying the forward line with crosses into the penalty area.

The two holding midfielders would provide cover at the base of the midfield for each full-back to overlap, with the wide midfielders adopting inside forward roles where they're encouraged to cut inside. Lampard's build-up play tended to be more frenetic, rather than the patient approach observed at Everton.

From a defensive perspective, both his Derby and Chelsea teams pressed intensely. There was significant responsibility on the central midfielders when executing the press and they were encouraged to try and retrieve possession deep in opposition territory.

Frank Lampard player development

One glowing facet of Lampard's managerial skillset is his ability to develop players and Coventry possess a number of unpolished gems that could benefit from his tutelage.

He worked productively at Derby with Mount and Tomori and given Chelsea's inability to act in the transfer window, he utilised the club's impressive Cobham academy, handing eight players their debuts and managing the exposure of several young stars.

One debutant included Reece James, who flourished under Lampard's supervision as his attacking capabilities saw him emerge as a key component in Chelsea's attacking framework.

Lampard's preference for his full-backs to endeavour forward and contribute to the attack should benefit Milan van Ewijk, with the enterprising right-back capable of adding another dimension to the Sky Blues attack.

Fortunately for Lampard, he inherits a strong squad of positionally flexible players.

Ben Sheaf has earned an array of plaudits during his time in the West Midlands and the combative midfielder has the qualities to flourish in a Lampard pivot which places greater emphasis on the defensive output of those in the middle of the park.

Ellis Simms previously worked with Lampard at Everton and both he and Haji Wright only need to glance at Tammy Abraham's 2019/20 campaign with Chelsea to see how Lampard's methods can potentially benefit their output.

A bright spark of the previous season, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto has been subjected to a bit-part role so far this term but Lampard's arrival may present the creative Japanese winger with an opportunity to showcase his immense technical ability.

Frank Lampard managerial statistics

Team	Tenure	Win %
Derby County	May 2018 - July 2019	42.1
Chelsea	July 2019 - January 2021	52.4
Everton	January 2022 - January 2023	27.3
Chelsea (caretaker)	April 2023 - May 2023	9.1

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