Lampard: It was beyond my expectations to enter the English Championship playoffs, thanks to everyone in the club for their efforts

May 8 According to the Mirror, Lampard talked about the Championship playoffs in an interview.

Lampard admitted that he did not expect to lead the team to the Championship playoffs when he took over Coventry in November. Lampard's team will face Sunderland at home in the first leg of the playoffs on Friday night. Coventry's goal is to return to the Premier League for the first time since 2001, in stark contrast to the situation when Lampard first took office that the team was on the verge of relegation zone.

Speaking of this, Lampard said: "There is a reason we were ranked 17th. The club has achieved some success in the league in recent years, such as reaching the playoff finals and the FA Cup semi-finals last year, but our performance was not ideal this season. We might be under pressure to relegate at that time, so I didn't expect such results at all. But when I came here, I hope to be confident in the team and hope to make us better. The question is, how much can we improve? How many steps can we take?

"The rest is due to a lot of people in the club. First of all, there are players, you can’t do anything without them; there is also the enthusiasm and determination of the club’s senior management, the efforts of all staff at the training base, and the support of fans. ”

Lampard made slow progress in his early years in office, winning only three of his first nine games, including a 2-1 loss away in Norwich, with Verson scoring two goals in the last minute to help Norwich win. Lampard believes this is a critical moment of the season.

Speaking of this game, Lampard said: "I think the players performed very hard and hard in that game. We changed to the five-back formation and led by one goal in the 91st minute, but eventually lost the game 2-1. I drove home with disappointment because I saw the players were already giving their all. That moment allowed me to see the players' determination and fighting spirit, but at that time, we were still a long way from where we are now. When I drove back to London on the A12 road, I had no idea we would be in the play-offs. Since then, we have won nine of the next ten league games and the rankings have started to rise. I also started talking more about the play-offs than the relegation. ”

Lampard had previously led Derby County to the 2018-19 Championship play-off final, but lost to Aston Villa. He believes that the key to preparing for the game is to let the players find a balance between focusing on the game and feeling of tension, while recognizing potential rewards.

In response, Lampard said: "Our mission is to focus on the game in front of him. I don't mind the players' desire to be Premier League players. They must have this desire or they shouldn't be here. This is a good thing, but we must be very focused and meticulous in implementing tomorrow's game plan, which is the key, and don't think too much about future things. ”