Frank Lampard drops Coventry City squad hint | OneFootball

Frank Lampard is putting his faith in his title-winners, despite their Premier League inexperience, ahead of their top-flight return

Coventry City were by far and away the best team in the Championship this past season, winning the title by a canter, finishing 11 points ahead of Ipswich Town in second.

The focus now shifts to their first Premier League campaign in 25 years, and everyone associated with the Sky Blues will be hoping that it's not just a one-year stay.

The gap in quality between the top two divisions in England is as wide as it ever has been, but this past year showed that Championship clubs can, indeed, make that step up, after both Sunderland and Leeds United staved off relegation following back-to-back years of the three promoted teams going straight back down.

The onus now is on one, two or even all of Coventry, Ipswich and Hull City to continue that trend, but there's no denying that they'll be in for a long and hard season.

Their recruitment will need to be key to ensure they have the best possible chance of avoiding a swift second-tier return.

Frank Lampard is trusting in his title winners, despite a lack of Premier League experience

It was showcased, especially at Elland Road, that having players hitting their prime years with Premier League experience can go a long way to securing survival.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Sean Longstaff and James Justin, for example, weren't sexy signings on paper, but they all played their part in helping keep Daniel Farke's side in the division.

Coventry boss Frank Lampard will have a decision to make this summer regarding how much trust he wants to put in a squad that has little to no Premier League minutes under its belt. Frank Onyeka is set to join the Sky Blues permanently after a successful loan spell in the second half of the campaign, and he ticks that box.

Outside the former Brentford man, though, only Matt Grimes, Ellis Simms and Kaine Kesler-Hayden have played in the English top flight, and even then, their time was only brief.

But, in his acceptance speech after being named LMA's Manager of the Year, per Coventry Live, Lampard hinted that he's prepared to give his title-winners a shot at the top flight, and won't be leaving them immediately by the wayside.

"We haven't got Premier League minutes in our team," he admitted. "We've got a couple of boys that played, who got 30 appearances or whatever.

"The reality is that these boys deserve a chance because of the hard work that they did. Sometimes I think it's not about being humble, it's actually just acknowledging and crediting the players who want to get to the Premier League.

"So, we go for it, right? You have to understand what they did. The accomplishment has been amazing for the players because they are the ones who go and do it."

Coventry City may be taking a huge risk by not improving numerous positions in their squad

Plenty of critics feel that newly promoted teams have to copy Sunderland's transfer strategy and use that as a blueprint towards survival, but the reality is that the Black Cats were relative underdogs who won the play-offs, rather than runaway league leaders.

There will be certain members of that Coventry squad who haven't played in the Premier League, Jack Rudoni, Milan van Ewijk and Haji Wright, for example, who could easily prove to be top-flight regulars if given the opportunity.

But, on the flip side, if the Sky Blues do put their trust in those who got them promoted, and they don't make that massive leap to being Premier League level, then Coventry will be in for a very difficult first campaign back after a quarter of a century away.

We've seen dominant league winners recently, such as Leicester City and Burnley, fail to stay up with the players who excelled in the second tier, and Coventry could easily fall into that bracket this time next season, too.

Only time will tell, but with the journey that the core group of players have been on with Lampard at the helm over the past 18 months, which has helped the 47-year-old almost reignite his managerial career, it's nice to see the manager repay that by keeping faith in his players as they embark on what will be a challenging campaign next season.