Lampard reveals how Guardiola and Frank visits shaped his Coventry success

Sky Blues boss has transformed Championship side from relegation candidates to promotion hopefuls

Frank Lampard has revealed how visits to Pep Guardiola and Thomas Frank have influenced his managerial approach during Coventry City’s remarkable Championship campaign.

The former Chelsea midfielder, who took charge at Coventry in November when they were hovering in 17th place, has overseen a dramatic transformation that sees the Sky Blues now sitting fifth and firmly in the play-off picture.

Speaking to The Athletic, Lampard disclosed that he had visited Brentford boss Thomas Frank prior to taking the Coventry job, describing the Danish manager as ‘so open and so interesting’.

‘I’ve been to a couple of them (dinner with coaches). It’s a really good opportunity to exchange ideas and talk together,’ Lampard said. ‘At one point I visited Thomas Frank in Brentford. He was so open and interesting.’

Perhaps most influential was a meeting with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, which happened just a month before the Coventry position became available.

‘About a month before this job came up, I went up to Manchester City to do an interview with Rodri and I got the opportunity to sit down for 45 minutes with Pep, which was amazing,’ Lampard explained.

The 46-year-old was particularly struck by Guardiola’s coaching style and engagement with players during training sessions, something he aspires to emulate in his own career.

‘Before I even started coaching, I had a couple of days at City and I was just amazed by his engagement on the training ground with the players,’ Lampard continued. ‘That’s exactly what I want to be, something like that. What’s my version of being in there next to a player, going through everything?’

The impact of these interactions appears evident in Lampard’s work at Coventry, where he has guided the team to their best winning run in 55 years, claiming victory in eight of his last nine league matches.

Since his appointment in November, the Sky Blues have climbed 12 positions in the table and now find themselves with a genuine chance of returning to the Premier League for the first time since 2001.

Lampard has also been vocal about challenging the notion that elite players struggle as managers, describing it as a ‘lazy’ stereotype.

‘It’s a really lazy thing to say great players don’t make great managers,’ the Coventry boss told The Athletic. ‘You start listing some of them: Zidane, Ancelotti, Cruyff, Guardiola… It’s just a fallacy.’

Lampard’s managerial journey has included spells at Derby County, two stints at Chelsea, and a tenure at Everton before taking the Coventry position. His current win percentage at Coventry stands at an impressive 55 per cent, the highest of his managerial career.

With Coventry now pushing for promotion, Lampard will be hoping to avoid a repeat of his experience at Derby, where he lost to Aston Villa in the play-off final during his first season in management.