After Coventry City hearts were broken by a last-gasp goal from Sunderland in extra time of their Championship play-off semi-final second leg, Frank Lampard showed his top mentality post-match

Frank Lampard demonstrated his hunger for success with Coventry City after being left heartbroken by their play-off semi-final defeat to Sunderland. The Sky Blues were left in an exhausted and disappointed heap at the Stadium of Light as their play-off woes struck again.

Since taking over in December when the club were languishing in 17th place, Lampard has led a remarkable turnaround. However, Premier League promotion was not meant to be, as Sunderland’s path to Wembley was sealed by Daniel Ballard’s extra-time header.

After losing the first leg at home 2-1, Coventry forced an additional 30 minutes by winning the second leg 1-0, courtesy of Ephron Mason-Clark’s second-half goal. The Midlands side were downed by a late goal from Eliezer Mayenda at the Coventry Building Society Arena, but Ballard’s header this time was even more painful.

Despite this, Lampard, who lost in the play-off final to Aston Villa when he was manager of Derby County in the 2018/19 campaign, insisted that his team dominated at home and put on an impressive display at the Stadium of Light. The manager reflected on the narrow defeat and said: “Firstly congratulations to Sunderland, they go to the final but immense pride I’ve got in my players.

“If anyone watched the two games, we dominated at home, we made a mistake and they scored. I think we dominated huge periods of this game.

“We played, controlled and in the second half it was wave after wave. The players have given everything from where we’ve come from – 17th in the league in December and the players have been brilliant in the second half of the season.

They had to concede to us because of the way we played and with the way the lads controlled the game they don’t deserve it. I’m a lot older and I’ve been around a lot so I’ve taken whacks and I’ve had success so maybe I can be a bit more balanced in my job but for those players, they don’t deserve that.

“So, congratulations to Sunderland. We’re not bitter, but we were the better team over the two football matches. Absolutely clear. That’s why they’ll be so happy that they won that game. They’re going to Wembley, but in a football sense, massive pride.”

Considering where Coventry were when Lampard arrived, it has been an astonishing first campaign under the iconic midfielder. However, his disappointment in not reaching Wembley demonstrates his elite mentality and his hunger for success as a manager, despite winning all there was to win in club football as a player at Chelsea.

For Coventry, though, it’s just more play-off heartbreak. Many fans are still stung by the club’s defeat to Luton Town on penalties in the 2022/23 play-off campaign, as well as the failure to finish in the play-off places last season.