Frank Lampard issues Coventry City warning ahead of Middlesbrough clash | OneFootball

Coventry City have dropped to second in the table ahead of their clash with Middlesbrough on Monday

Frank Lampard has urged his Coventry City players to stand up to the pressure of battling for promotion ahead of their crunch clash against Middlesbrough.

The Sky Blues lost their place at top spot in the Championship table with their 0-0 draw against Oxford United last time out.

Boro’s 2-1 win at Bramall Lane saw Kim Hellberg’s side move ahead by two points after they had closed the 10 point gap between the sides.

Lampard’s side are winless in their last three games, and will now also be concerned about Ipswich Town, Hull City and Millwall breathing down their necks.

The club are seeking an automatic return to the Premier League for the first time since 2001 after reaching the play-offs in two of the last three campaigns.

Frank Lampard issued pressure warning to Coventry City squad

Lampard has warned his Coventry players that they have to stand up to the pressure of Monday night’s top of the table clash amid their recent poor form.

He believes the players have to accept that their lead at the top of the table has disappeared, and that they must now react by turning around their results if they are to still earn promotion.

“It is a big test for us all to mentally accept the situation,” said Lampard, via the Mirror.

“There are different pressures on us now.

“That dial has changed.

“We have to stand up to that pressure.

“To try to get to where you want to get, there is normally some element of suffering.

“At one point, we had a lot go our own way and now we have to show a different side to ourselves.

“I’ve been around the game too long — I always felt there was a possibility of that.”

Coventry reached the play-off semi-finals last season under Lampard, but a 3-2 aggregate loss to Sunderland ended their promotion hopes.

The Sky Blues were also eliminated from promotion contention in the play-off final in 2023 under Mark Robins, losing to Luton Town on penalties.

It has been almost 25 years since the club competed in the top flight, but they still lead Ipswich in third place by four points going into the weekend’s action, albeit having played a game more.

Coventry’s come clash against Middlesbrough takes place on 16 February in an 8pm kick-off.

Coventry have to adapt to changing league position

Coventry’s lead looked so strong just a couple of months ago, but they’ve let that slip and they cannot afford to give up too much more ground to the teams behind.

A defeat to Middlesbrough would not only be an opportunity for Ipswich to close in, but it could also destroy the team mentally.

It would be a massive disappointment for the club to not earn a top two finish now after the strong first half of the campaign they had.

But unless they react to the pressure that’s now being applied, they’re at risk of being caught by the team behind, and a loss would also give Middlesbrough a comfortable five point lead at the top.