Frank Lampard is in advanced negotiations to become Coventry City’s new manager.
The former Chelsea and England midfielder made a strong initial impression in an interview with Coventry owner Doug King last week and discussions have intensified over the past 24 hours.
Lampard, 46, is now close to agreeing a two-and-a-half-year contract as the successor to Mark Robins, who was controversially sacked earlier this month after seven years in charge.
Joe Edwards and Chris Jones, who were part of Lampard’s coaching staff at Everton and during both spells at Chelsea, are expected to join him at Coventry.
If an agreement is reached, it will be Lampard’s fourth permanent management job following spells in charge of Derby Country, Chelsea and Everton. He has been out of work since briefly returning to Chelsea on an interim basis towards the end of the 2022-23 season.
King has faced criticism from Coventry supporters following his decision to sack Robins, who was the longest-serving manager in the Championship and the third longest-serving in the top four tiers of English football.
After a turbulent period in their history, Coventry enjoyed a resurgence under Robins and reached the Championship play-off final in 2022-23, losing to Luton Town. They finished ninth last season having been in play-off contention for much of the campaign.
Robins was sacked on November 7 after a poor start to this season left Coventry 17th in the Championship, with only goal difference keeping them out of the relegation zone. Writing in Coventry’s match programme on Saturday, King spelt out the importance of steering clear of relegation trouble and, ultimately, trying to return to the Premier League after a 24-year absence. He said he could not risk “squandering the launchpad” that was built under Robins’ management.
Coventry remain 17th after taking two points from three matches under interim coach Rhys Carr, who said after Tuesday night’s 2-0 defeat at Burnley that he was managing day to day while waiting for clarification on an appointment.
Wycombe Wanderers coach Matt Broomfield was another leading candidate for the Coventry job. Ruud van Nistelrooy was reported to have applied for the job following his spell in interim charge of Manchester United, but vacancies at Premier League side Leicester City and former club Hamburg are likely to hold more appeal for the former Netherlands forward.
Burnley, meanwhile, were interested in appointing Lampard after Vincent Kompany’s departure to Bayern Munich in the summer, before appointing Scott Parker as their new manager.
Coventry’s players have a day off on Wednesday but are due to return to training on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s home match against Cardiff City.
(Top photo: Warren Little/Getty Images)
