Lampard rejects must-win label before Championship Clash against Middlesbrough | OneFootball

Coventry host Middlesbrough at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Monday night, with both teams knowing that a win will perch them at the top of the Championship table.

Despite clearly being a huge night for both sides, Lampard insists Monday night is not make or break in Coventry’s season.

He says: “Is this a must-win? No. Because there are fourteen other games.

“Do we want to win it?” Lampard continues: “Absolutely, yes. And we will have to give everything to try and do that.”

The Sky Blues have held a firm grip on top spot for the last 22 matches, at times establishing as much as a 10-point margin ahead of the chasing pack.

However, an inconsistent run of form, stretching back to losing away at Ipswich in early December, has coincided with a Middlesbrough hot streak, during which they have won their last six league outings.

This has seen the Teesiders eventually snatch first position from the side eyeing a return to the Premier League, for the first time since relegation to the second tier in the 2000/01 season.

When asked whether now sitting in second place constitutes a different type of pressure to first, the ex Derby, Chelsea and Everton boss simply answered: “Who knows, but both pressures are great.

“If you’d have offered me the pressure that comes with first or second at the start of the season, I’d have bitten your hand off.”

Home advantage will have a big part to play in Monday’s top-of-the-table clash, with the hosts only having lost one league match at the CBS Arena this season.

When asked about his side’s home form, Lampard told Radio CWR: “That’s what home advantage is all about.

“We’ve won a lot of football matches at home because we’ve been together with the fans.

“We’re going to have to understand that Middlesbrough are a good footballing team, so there’ll be a lot of flow in the game, but we know the fans will be with us, as they have been all season.”

Speaking further about what to expect from the visiting side, Coventry’s head coach says: “The fact is, Boro have gone into the sort of form that we were in at the start of the season, and we’ve come off it a bit.

“We’ve just got to be very focused on our game plan and the job that we do.

“The reality is they’re going to want to win the game and play football as well, so there are going to be moments when we’re going to have to be very strong in our organisation.”

Sky Blues fans will be eager to see January loan signing, Frank Onyeka, feature for the first time in CV6.

The midfield enforcer, who arrived from Brentford on deadline day, hasn’t featured so far due to the recent birth of his child. When asked about the Nigerian international, Lampard states: “He is ready to go.

“He had his couple of days off with the baby, but he’s been back training with us, so it’s been good to have that little bit of time with him before looking at games going forward.

“We’ve got a good competitive squad now and we’re in a good position. So now it’s about being competitive and trying to win games.”