Time to move on from Robins as Lampard lays foundations

Frank Lampard has won five of his 12 games in charge of Coventry City

We need to move on as a fanbase from Mark Robins - there, I've said it.

That's not in any way to diminish his achievements; I know he brought the club back from the brink, and that should always be remembered, and hopefully will be at future Legends Days, but he works for Stoke City now.

Sniping about whether he'd have achieved the same results as Frank Lampard is counter-productive and pointless.

The facts are, defensively, the team has improved under Lampard.

Twelve goals conceded in 11 Championship matches is a definite upgrade on 19 in 14 under Robins.

Lampard has talked about defensive solidity, and keeping more clean sheets was the "main focus" when he took the job.

Five shut-outs since he arrived, compared to two prior to 28 November, also adds weight to the improvement argument. As does the obvious betterment of the press from the front which, as Lampard points out, is where more impenetrable defending starts.

His switch to 3-5-2 in recent weeks is undoubtedly reaping dividends as well. Interestingly he points out that the players have adopted the system: "how we want it played; an aggressive not passive shape."

Things are far from perfect and clearly they were second-best in the first half at Blackburn on Tuesday as the much-improved Oliver Dovin in goal pulled off some tremendous saves, including one absolutely top drawer stop, to keep the opposition at bay.

Successful teams are always built on solid foundations – clean sheets in each of the last three Championship matches at the CBS Arena is a significant step forward.

The fact they haven't kept four in a row in home games for four years is another reason to be cheerful right now.

In the words of the anthem: "Let's All Sing Together" - that's what it's about, folks, surely?