Frank Lampard expected to avoid ‘very harsh’ call at Coventry - with Chelsea legend ready for another shot at the Premier League

Having found themselves scratching around in the EFL, dropping as far as League Two at one stage, Coventry have been able to clamber back into the top-flight. Mark Robins was the man to set that meteoric rise in motion.

He was surprisingly relieved of his duties in November 2024, clearing the way for Lampard to make his return to the dugout. The former England star had spent over 12 months out of coaching following his second stint - as an interim boss - at Stamford Bridge.

Questions had been asked of his credentials across a spell at Everton - having previously lasted less than two years in west London - but the 48-year-old has seen his stock soar again after guiding Coventry to the play-offs and then the second tier title.

A three-year contract extension has been earned, taking him through to 2029, so will the Sky Blues stick with Lampard even if a difficult 2026-27 campaign is endured - with a relegation battle being predicted by many?

When that question was put to Hendry, the former Coventry defender - speaking exclusively to GOAL in association with King Casino - said: “Well, Frank has a bit of experience in coaching and management as well in the Prem. He's been a player in the Prem and he'll have seen how the football's changed.

“He's done a remarkable job with Coventry. He's really put them on the map and pulled them out of obscurity, really. And I think it would be very, very harsh if they didn't stick with Frank.

“But the thing about that is that I don't think Frank would be short of offers from other teams in the Prem as well - teams that are maybe, I'm not going to say the yo-yo teams because if it means him going down and bouncing back, I'm not saying Coventry's going to be a yo-yo team, but if they can become a Brighton or a Brentford or a Bournemouth that aren't yo-yo teams, that's as much as Coventry could ask for.”

Hendry added on the Sky Blues being back among the elite: “For the benefit of the football club, with the amount of funds that are provided by just being a Premiership club and the fans that go and support Fulham, Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford, they're seeing the Arsenal's and the Liverpool's and the Man City's and the Man United's and the Chelsea's attending their grounds and it's going to be great for them.

“Listen, there's a lot of clubs, bigger clubs than the teams I've mentioned that aren't in the Premiership that think they should be in the Premiership and I get that, but that's life. Leicester. Leicester's sitting in League One! You would never have thought that.

“And you could go back to when Blackburn won the Prem in 94-95 and so many years later, they're in League One. It's a lot of years after, but it's not as soon as 2016 when Leicester won, but 10 years later, they're in League One. You couldn't have believed that.

“But Coventry, I can't even think for a minute that they'd consider changing any of the top, well, Frank Lampard, I wouldn't think that for a moment, to be fair.”

Coventry have been able to complete plenty of transfer business this summer, with promotion giving their bank balance a welcome boost. First-choice goalkeeper Carl Rushworth has seen a loan from Brighton made permanent, while Gus Hamer is back in familiar surroundings following three seasons at Sheffield United.

The Sky Blues are readying themselves for a Premier League baptism of fire, as they jump back in at the deep end, with their 2026-27 campaign set to open away at defending champions Arsenal on August 21.