After 25 years, Coventry City are returning to the Premier League. They were relegated 9,113 days ago, following a 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa on 5 May 2001. They spent 11 years in the Championship before being relegated to League One. In 2013, they went into administration.

There were marches and pitch invasions against an ownership that sold to Doug King in 2023 after 13 years. During this time, the club dropped to the fourth tier of English football for the first time in 59 years.

This success under Frank Lampard was not expected as quickly as it came, but there was optimism at the start of the season.

Goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, who joined on loan from Brighton, has made the biggest impact. However, the team is pretty much the same as last season, apart from Romain Esse and Frank Onyeka.

The goal was to be promoted automatically, but that changed to winning the title after they were able to stay in the top two places in the league.

Coventry celebrations after being promoted | Source: BBC Sport

The training ground has seen an upgraded gym, which allows players to train at the same time. In the old gym, they had to take turns and train in groups.

Lampard has won a lot as a player in professional football, which is what allowed him to get the job as manager. All of the players trust him and feel a sense of belonging. 

He said: "I try to be simple and direct about it. I don't like to talk too much. My situation 15 years ago in a big game is maybe different to theirs, but maybe it's one of the positives of having a long career and then becoming a manager. You have lived it."

Middlesbrough were level on 58 points at the end of January. Since that point, Coventry have lost once in 13 games, winning eight of them.

Lampard faced Coventry as a Chelsea player | Source: BBC Sport