Coventry City boss Frank Lampard delivers verdict on recent Sunderland form amid ‘rivalry’ assessment
Coventry City boss Frank Lampard has claimed that “no-one should be fooled” by Sunderland’s recent run of poor form heading into the Championship play-offs.
The two clubs meet at the CBS Arena on Friday evening, with a return fixture scheduled for Tuesday at the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats have struggled for momentum in recent weeks, however, and have lost their last five league outings prior to their trip to the Midlands.
But despite their recent dip, Lampard is wary of overlooking the threat that Sunderland are capable of posing to his side.
What has Frank Lampard said about Sunderland ahead of the Championship play-offs?
Looking ahead to Friday’s fixture during a pre-match press conference, Lampard said: “The reality is we have to prepare well for the games and try to play well in them because Sunderland are a good team. And no-one should be fooled by five defeats they have just had. They have been in the play-offs a long time and that’s not easy to manage. They still have very good players and a way of playing, so we’ll have to be at our best.”
The Coventry boss, who has been in his job since late November, also took some time to reflect on the longstanding rivalry between the two clubs – a feud that dates back almost 50 years to 1977, when a final day kick-off delay gave the Sky Blues a late advantage in a tense relegation battle that ultimately saw the Black Cats relegated.
Asked if he is aware of the rivalry, Lampard responded: “Yeah, I am aware because I was told about it quite early in my time here, but it’s not my rivalry. But I am Coventry now so I have to be aware of it. If there’s that then that’s what football is about, a bit of rivalry and a bit of edge.
“It was new to me when I came into this job and rivalry between clubs is fine, although I think it’s less relevant in these games because of the size of the games and because of what I’ve seen in this moment. So it’s maybe some less on these occasions, although a nice underlying thing. If handled well, rivalries can be good; good to add spice to the game.”
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What has Regis Le Bris said about Sunderland’s play-off hopes?
Asked what he would say to fans feeling pessimistic about Sunderland’s play-off hopes following their recent run of five successive defeats, head coach Le Bris responded: “I understand, but we have to remember where we were one season before. This team has shown so many qualities this season, it doesn’t disappear like that [clicks fingers]. It has been a really strange period because we secured this place so early, and it was clear that this squad, the youngest in the league with a small core, deserved to recover.
“We disturbed the flow of the squad—its rhythm and its references—so that they could recover and so that we could test some new foundations. But in the end, we know our foundations as a team. We know what works and what is positive for us, we know in our heads maybe what options could be good for us in the games. We are clear on our foundations, and I think at that level, we are always on the edge; it’s not unusual. The players are ready to react.”
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