How Frank Lampard responds to ‘shut up, you’ve got a big ego’ jibes – with Chelsea legend thriving in management again as Coventry piece together Premier League promotion push

Lampard took over at Coventry last November and since then he has taken them from just above the Championship relegation places to the play-off positions. The Chelsea legend, who has struggled in recent managerial appointments at the Blues and Everton, is earning lots of plaudits at Coventry and has fans dreaming of a Premier League promotion. Now he has also addressed jibes that he has a "massive ego" and should "shut up".

He told the Daily Mail: "I think I should distinguish between professional and public ego. As a player I definitely maximised certain parts of my career through a strong professional ego. I wanted to be as good as I could be. I wanted to be better than your man down the road. That wasn't a bad attribute for me. As a manager I still have those things. I want my team to be the best. I want to show when I go against another manager that I can do my job. But this is work. So I don't have this ego of what it means for my own public persona. It's important to work with the players that way because they need to see humility in the person who is leading them. I am with them. When we win or lose I am as happy and as disappointed as they are. That's natural for me. There will be people who view me from the outside who will go, 'Shut up, you've got a massive ego'. It doesn't matter to me. I like to get about my work and then get home to all the normal things. I know there will always be a challenge round the corner. It's not always going to be rosy here. We see it in many clubs and in many managers' careers. It's one of the reasons I sit here and try to temper things."

Lampard's appointment was met with a mixed response from Coventry fans, particularly after the hugely unpopular sacking of his predecessor Mark Robins. But he has got the Sky Blues on a superb run of form and if this continues, the ex-midfielder - whose reputation was badly hit after his second Chelsea managerial stint - may convince many that he can be a successful manager after all.

Lampard's Coventry side, who are up to fifth in the Championship, will hope to make it six league wins in a row when they travel to lowly Derby County on Tuesday.