Coventry City

Coventry City manager Frank Lampard says his players "needed recovery", but should avoid becoming complacent.

Lampard lost Haji Wright (USA), Brandon Thomas-Asante (Ghana), Joel Latibeaudiere (Jamaica) and Jay Dasilva (Wales), as they all went off to join their respective international teams.

"We used the time well and the players needed recovery first and foremost," Lampard told BBC Radio CWR. "It has given us a chance to get the right level of physical work.

"It is is not always easy to work overly tactical when you are missing some important players, we are not the biggest squad.

"But it gives us the chance to bring up some young players and have a look at those who have added positively to the feeling of the group."

The Sky Blues are the only team in the Championship yet to lose this season. Their last game before the break saw them complete a 5-0 thumping over Sheffield Wednesday.

Coventry welcome Blackburn to the CBS Arena on Saturday (15:00 BST), where they will be looking to extended their unbeaten streak.

"The unbeaten record is nice, but I'm not so concerned about that, because we can lose a game in this league," Lampard added.

"But performance wise and feeling wise the way the players are running for each other on the pitch and how they are performing on the pitch has been great - but I have to be the first one to understand the minute those levels drop then everything changes.

"There were a few glimpses at Sheffield Wednesday, even in the 5-0 where we dropped a little bit, players have seen that back since and we have to make sure we guard against any complacency."

Listen to Lampard's full interview and more Coventry City content on BBC Sounds.

Ellis Simms hopes he can continue to make an impact for Coventry - whether it is as a substitute or in the starting XI.

The 24-year-old forward has come off the bench in seven of City's opening nine Championship games and netted in his past two appearances in big wins at Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday.

Simms started 19 of the Sky Blues' final 22 games last season and came off the bench in the other three.

But, after six goals in 44 Championship appearances last season, he has had to settle for an 'impact sub' role under Frank Lampard this season.

He told BBC CWR: "I want to score goals, do well and keep improving. You have to keep believing in yourself and eventually it will come.

"If I keep making the runs, working hard, practising, you're going to score and from there it's like a snowball, you get confidence and you score again - I believe in my ability.

"The one-to-ones with Frank Lampard and the training staff are very helpful. Especially learning from the best. I have to learn from them and keep listening to the advice and take it on board."

Simms said he has the "same mentality" whether he is coming off the bench or starting, adding: "You have to be ready at all times, work hard, and when you're given an opportunity you want to grasp it with both hands and do well for yourself and the team.

"Every player wants to start (but) when you come on you want to make an impact and influence the game.

"I feel like I am in a decent place and in the last two games I have managed to come on and score. I want to keep that coming.

"There's healthy competition in the team, we're all pushing each other and that's maybe a factor in why we have started so well this season."

Click here to listen to the full interview via BBC Sounds.

"Frank's a very engaging individual - he wears his footballing greatness lightly.

"We see someone who comes in with this great work effort, this humility, this desire. I guess for Frank, he's got a slight point to prove himself."

World Soccer's Henry Winter joins BBC Radio CWR to discuss Frank Lampard's influence on Coventry City.

Listen to the full analysis and more Coventry City content on BBC Sounds.

Blackburn Rovers have the unenviable task of visiting top dogs Coventry City on Saturday (15:00 BST) as they look for space away from the bottom three.

Rovers are currently just one point above the relegation spots and in a spot of poor form, finding themselves winless in three league matches (D1 L2).

Coventry, on the other hand, are flying. The side are so in form, in fact, that their goal difference of 20 is higher than any other Championship team's 'goals for' tally so far this season.

But the Sky Blues are still just one point above second placed Middlesbrough (as of time of writing, at least!) and will want to make sure they retain their leading position.

• Coventry City haven't lost any of their last nine league games against Blackburn Rovers (W4 D5), keeping a clean sheet in each of their last four matches against them.

• Blackburn Rovers have lost each of their last three league trips to Coventry City, with their last away win in the league against the Sky Blues coming in October 2020 (4-0).

• Coventry have won each of their last three league games by an average score of 12-0, while they've kept a clean sheet in their last four league games; they last did so in five successive games in October 2001 in the second tier under Ronald Nilsson.

• Since Valerien Ismael's first Championship game in charge of Blackburn Rovers at the start of March, only two sides have lost more Championship league matches than Rovers (10).

• Coventry have already scored 27 goals in their opening nine league games this season; the last second tier side to score as many as 30 in their first 10 league games of a season was Bolton Wanderers in 1964-65 (31). Indeed, the most the Sky Blues have scored in their first 10 Football League games of a season is 28 in the Division Three South in 1935-36.

Coventry City chairman Doug King has said he thinks he is likely "too hands on" when it comes to his involvement with the Championship club.

King secured full ownership of the Sky Blues after buying out previous owners Sisu in January 2023.

"I'm very hands on, it's a big deal," King told BBC Radio 4.

"It's really important for the community, it's obviously a huge financial undertaking as well. It matters a lot. It changes everybody's feeling about the area if we get something right - and obviously if we get it wrong.

"I'm very aware of that and that's why I take a lot interest in it and am probably way too hands on, but that's how I'm going to be."

The atmosphere around the club has been particularly positive of late; Frank Lampard's side are a point clear at the top of the table and possess a goal difference (+20) that is higher than any other Championship team's 'goals for' tally.

"We've had a really good start so that's got everybody dreaming," King added.

"We haven't had a good start for a while so it's good to have one. We've just got to keep on doing what we are doing."

Listen to the full interview with King and more Coventry City content on BBC Sounds.

Sky Blues midfielder Jack Rudoni sat down with BBC Radio 4's Mike Williams to reflect on Frank Lampard's influence in his 11 months at Coventry and his ambition to take the club to the Premier League.

The Sky Blues sit top of the Championship pile after nine games and boast the division's only remaining unbeaten record.

"We're all enjoying it, we're free-flowing and expressing ourselves," Rudoni said.

"We all respect him [Lampard] as a player and as a person. I have a great relationship with him and it's brought the best out of me and a lot of players.

"There's no one better for me to learn off than a goalscoring midfielder. He works with me one-to-one and I love training and playing under him.

"We need to stay level-headed, take it game-by-game. We're in a great position, we just want to stay unbeaten and pick up three points where we can.

"Everything is coming together really nicely. It's an amazing city for football. I love playing for this club. We want to create our own history and getting back to the Premier League is the main aim for us."

Click here to listen to the full interview via BBC Sounds.

"It's a weird position to be in where everyone's talking about you. It's kind of uncomfortable in a way.

"Eyes are more on us because of Frank Lampard, because he's doing such a brilliant job and because the football we're playing is the best I can remember.

"It's a nice feeling but a surreal one, it happens to other clubs, not us."

BBC CWR's Lorna Bailey is joined by Sky Blues fans Ben and Stuart to discuss the amount of attention on the table-topping Sky Blues during the international break.

Hear too from chairman Doug King, manager Frank Lampard and midfielder Jack Rudoni and have a crack at Name That Game.

Click here to listen to the full episode of the Sky Blues Fancast via BBC Sounds.

"The fans should and always will respect Mark Robins' legacy, but we're now doing our own thing.

"The players are a joy to work with. My relationship with Doug King is very good, we have a close relationship, he has a great passion for the club.

"I'm a more relaxed manager now than when I started, I have learned a lot. I'm more level-headed and I understand the job as well as I ever have."

As the one-year anniversary of his appointment at Coventry City as successor to Mark Robins approaches next month, Sky Blues boss Frank Lampard sat down with BBC Radio 4's Mike Williams to reflect on his time at the club, his relationship with the fans and his growth as a manager.

Click here to listen to the full interview via BBC Sounds.

"You can feel the energy around the city and at the CBS - definitely a good time to be a Cov fan."

Join BBC presenter Mike Williams as he takes a walk around Coventry to speak with Sky Blues fans, owner Doug King, boss Frank Lampard and midfielder Jack Rudoni about the good vibes floating around the club after a superb start to the season.

Listen to all the interviews and more Coventry City content on BBC Sounds.

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist and member of the Sky Blues Fancast on 5 Live's Monday Night Club

It's unbelievable, the whole city is bouncing. In my lifetime, I've never seen a start like it. It is just absolutely fantastic.

To say that Coventry are flying is an understatement because they are not just beating teams, they are demolishing teams.

We played Birmingham City and won 3-0, travelled to Millwall and won 4-0, and then went to Sheffield Wednesday for a 12:30 BST kick-off and won 5-0, so that is not a bad week is it?!

There is no disrespect because Mark Robins had an unbelievable tenure, and people say they will always love him for what he did for the club.

He saved the club, and brought it back up to the Championship from rock bottom of League Two.

But it was a new chapter and it is time to move on. I would say everyone is fully behind Frank Lampard. He has brought exciting, forward-thinking, attacking football to Coventry, and they are a joy to watch.

Frank has fans on the edge of their seats. They are scoring for fun, and there is not much more as a fanbase that you can want.

You can acknowledge everything that Robins did, and there was a lot of anger and sadness when he went, but time is a healer. And football is a little bit of a fickle sport. When results start coming in, it makes it a lot easier.

Image source, Getty Images

Coventry City captain Matt Grimes says the team's balanced approach has been key to their fine start to the season.

Saturday's 5-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday sent Coventry into the international break top of the Championship and unbeaten in their opening nine matches.

It also capped a perfect week of three successive wins, 12 goals and three clean sheets.

"It's incredible, you can see the amount of confidence our front lads are playing with at the minute," he told BBC CWR.

"We've been really good in both boxes - not just the amount of goals we've scored but also that's four clean sheets in a row now, so all good signs.

"We're playing with the perfect mix of detail and freedom and that's what you're seeing. The attacking players are an absolute force at the minute."

The Sky Blues have picked up 13 points from a possible 15 and conceded just one goal since the 30-year-old midfielder was appointed club captain on 12 September.

"It's been a good start for all of us," he added.

"I know there was a lot of noise in the summer about us not starting too well [in past seasons], and we've done that this year so we can just get our heads down, keep working and crack on."

Listen to Grimes' full interview and more Coventry content on BBC Sounds.

Coventry City boss Frank Lampard says that he hasn't yet had "clarity" on security protocols for Saturday's visit to Sheffield Wednesday.

Further protests are expected at Hillsborough over the financial turmoil at the club that has seen players yet again face late payments.

Lampard says he wants some reassurance for the safety of his team if there are protests during the game.

"I have to think for Coventry City and my players and the things that I'm hearing about people might come on the pitch," Lampard told BBC Radio Coventry.

"We haven't had massive clarity in our conversations this morning on our players' security, their players' security, what might happen.

"Sheffield Wednesday have to deal with their end but we want that communicated to us. What are the variables that may happen, what are the consequences of what might happen because we saw Ipswich and Blackburn recently, which is still on-going. That was a natural cause, this may not be.

"I want some clarity on that, I haven't heard much. There are conversations on-going this morning and outside of that, I'll focus on my job of trying to get my team ready."

Lampard also confirmed there is still some injury doubt over midfielders Josh Eccles (glute) and Victor Torp (ankle) however they are set to train on Friday and are not yet ruled out for Saturday's game.

Listen to the full interview with Lampard and more Coventry City content on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Opta

Coventry could go top of the Championship, for a few hours at least, with a win at second-bottom Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday lunchtime (12:30 BST).

The unbeaten Sky Blues romped to a 4-0 win at Millwall on Wednesday night to go second, two points behind Middlesbrough, who visit Portsmouth later on Saturday afternoon.

City's 22 goals scored in eight games, and +15 goal difference are by far the best, not forgetting they have played out two 0-0 draws already.

Wednesday were seconds away from an eye-catching win at Birmingham on Tuesday, which would have hauled them out of the relegation zone, only for a 99th-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw to extend Blues unbeaten home run to 28 matches.

They have taken four points from their past two away games, but last Saturday's 1-1 draw against QPR was their first point, and first goal of the season at Hillsborough after three straight defeats to begin their home campaign.

• Sheffield Wednesday have lost just three of their past 11 home league games against Coventry City (W6 D2), though the Owls have lost both in the past two seasons.

• Coventry City have won four of their last five league games against Sheffield Wednesday (L1), scoring exactly two goals in each victory during that time.

• Sheffield Wednesday are unbeaten in their past three Championship matches (W1 D2), and will be looking to go four in a row without defeat for the first time since December 2024 (4).

• Coventry City have only won one of their past four Championship away games against Yorkshire sides (D1 L2), although that one victory did come in this fixture last season (2-1 in February).

• Frank Lampard is unbeaten against Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship (P3 W2 D1), only facing Hull City (5) and QPR (4) more often without losing as a manager in the division.

Double-backflipping defender Kaine Kesler-Hayden says he was thrilled to score in Coventry City's "incredible" win at Millwall on Wednesday.

The unbeaten Sky Blues hammered the Lions 4-0 with substitute Kesler-Hayden netting the fourth goal three minutes from time and celebrating with his trademark gymnastics move in front of the 2,800 travelling fans.

"Yeah it was crazy," he told BBC CWR. "I really enjoyed coming on and getting the minutes I'm getting.

"It's incredible, 4-0 away from home is a massive result.

"It's a tough place to come and I'm glad we can carry on with this unbeaten run.

"The team's got so many goals in it and people that can affect the game. If we want to get to where we want to everyone has to play their part."

Image source, Rex Features

The win - Coventry's fourth out of eight games in the Championship - keeps Frank Lampard's side on the heels of leaders Middlesbrough in second place.

Kesler-Hayden, who joined the Sky Blues from West Midlands neighbours Aston Villa in the summer, says their good form is being helped by their excellent team spirit.

"From the moment I walked in for pre-season I could feel it straight away - that togetherness - and the lads buzzing to come in every day," he said.

"As the season goes on things will only get stronger and we'll be a better team than we are.

"To build that connection with the fans really pushes us. We're delighted with the way it's going."

Coventry are on the road again at the weekend with a trip to Sheffield Wednesday (12:30 BST)

Kesler-Hayden is already targeting another good result to make it three wins in seven days.

"Recovery's really important but it's a three-game week and there's a going to be a lot of them. If we can go and get a result - what a week it would've been."

"It was just such a great team performance."

BBC CWR's Lorna Bailey and Will Oelrich are joined by Sky Blues fans Adam and Ben to reflect on Coventry City's 3-0 derby day win against Birmingham City, as well as discussing what to expect in Wednesday night's Championship encounter with Millwall (19:45 BST).

Listen to the full episode of the Sky Blues Fancast and more on BBC Sounds.