Coventry City manager Frank Lampard has acknowledged the fierce undercurrent of rivalry with Sunderland as his side prepare to face the Black Cats in the Championship play-off semi-finals.
Speaking ahead of the first leg, Lampard said he was made aware of the growing tensions between the two clubs shortly after arriving at Coventry – and while he may not share the history, he’s now fully invested in what’s at stake.
“I’m aware of the rivalry between the two teams because I was told about it quite early in my time here,” he said. “It’s not my rivalry, but I am Coventry now, so I have to be aware of it. It’s there, and that’s what football’s about, isn’t it? A bit of rivalry and a bit of edge.”
Former Everton and Chelsea boss Lampard dismissed any suggestion that Sunderland’s recent slump in form under head coach Régis Le Bris – five consecutive defeats to end the regular season – would have any bearing on the play-off encounter, with the first leg scheduled for this Friday at the CBS Arena.
“No one be fooled by the five defeats,” he warned after the final Championship fixtures. “They’ve been in the play-offs a long time, and that’s not easy to manage. They’ve still got very good players and a certain way of playing. We’re going to have to be at our best.”
Coventry and Sunderland met only recently in a Championship fixture, with the Sky Blues battering the Black Cats 3-0 at home. That game, Lampard says, will provide his side valuable insight, though he stressed the play-off atmosphere will bring entirely different challenges.
“We played them recently, so we have a pretty good idea of what they’re all about,” he said after Coventry City’s win against Middlesbrough. “We played them and played well, but this will be a completely different game. It’ll be about us mainly, though, and what we do.”
Ex-England midfielder Lampard also singled out Sunderland’s young talents Jobe Bellingham, 19, and 17-year-old Chris Rigg for special praise, following their appearance at the recent EFL Awards. Both players have also featured for the Three Lions’ youth sides.
“They’re really good players. I saw them at the EFL Awards the other night,” he said. “I like Jobe a lot. I like his profile, and I like his size, his qualities and his work ethic. I like him, I think he’s really good. Rigg is incredible when you find out what his age is, and then put that up against the talent that the boy’s got. Of course, we’ll have to be aware of them. We were when they came here, and we managed to deal with it. But with players at that level, there’s always moments they can give you.”
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