Frank Lampard hails Sheffield Wednesday & Barry Bannan in wake of fresh Dejphon Chansiri protests | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday supporters continued their protests against Coventry City on Saturday

Coventry City boss Frank Lampard admitted that he understands exactly why Sheffield Wednesday supporters continue to protest against controversial owner Dejphon Chansiri.

The Sky Blues continued their unbeaten start and have now taken their goal tally up to 27 in nine games with a 5-0 rout at Hillsborough on Saturday lunchtime, although the Championship encounter was delayed early in the first half for approximately five minutes as a minority of Owls supporters took to the pitch to get their message across to the Thai businessman, with the game also chosen for Sky Sports television coverage.

This was the latest in a long line of protests in the blue and white half of Sheffield, with supporters recently opting to boycott EFL Cup encounters against Leeds United and Grimsby Town in S6, whilst also refusing to pay any money for food and drink inside Hillsborough on other home matchdays until Chansiri's tumultuous reign as chairman comes to an end.

Prior to the weekend's clash between the division's second-bottom club and Lampard's high-flying side, the ex-Chelsea and England midfield icon voiced concerns over the safety of his players as reports of a potential pitch invasion came to the fore after Wednesday's senior players and staff saw their monthly wage packets delayed for the fifth time in six months, whilst a points deduction and potential administration looms large.

Coventry had already taken a 1-0 advantage in the game through Brandon Thomas-Asante's third-minute strike before the game was temporarily paused after 10 minutes played by referee, Adam Herczeg, as a collection of Wednesday supporters entered the field before beginning their protest in the centre circle.

The game was halted for approximately five minutes before all supporters were removed from the pitch, with Rob Staton of BBC Radio Sheffield reporting that whilst their actions were largely supported by those who remained in the stands - including those from the West Midlands - although a small collection of boos could be heard.

Thomas-Asante and Haji Wright then made it 3-0 for the Sky Blues before half-time, with Ellis Simms and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto adding further gloss on proceedings in the second period in a dominant performance against Henrik Pedersen's well-documented, threadbare squad.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Lampard admitted that pre-match developments would have made the encounter extremely difficult for the Dane and his players, as well as praising his own for the way they were unfazed by the aforementioned protests.

“It’s a really difficult game for Sheffield Wednesday players and coaching staff - and their fans actually,” Lampard said.

“First and foremost I sympathise with them, they’re doing great with how they are carrying themselves. Even the fans who are coming on the pitch, I think it’s understandable and they came off the pitch quickly. This is a great club.

“We dealt with the game professionally, the early goal helped but it made us sloppy in the first half in my opinion. We spoke about it at half-time and with the goals and the form that we’re in, you’ve always got a great chance of winning games.”

“When the fans came on the pitch, a few fans near the dugout tried to explain to me why it was happening and I completely get it.

I’m never going to encourage people to go on the pitch, but I think this is quite a specific moment for the football club. It was very peaceful, they stopped the game and I understand their frustrations," Lampard stated.

“I remember playing one of my early games for West Ham here. We lost, David Hirst scored I think. It was a huge football club, simple as that. And they remain that. They’re in a difficult moment. I can’t go into more detail about it because I don’t know enough, but you have to respect a fan base like this that want to see their club sustain.

“Barry Bannan deserves a shout out. Not only has he been an incredible player and continues to be, he’s held himself brilliantly and looks to me to be a leader of the dressing room and all credit to him," the Sky Blues boss added.

Lampard's verdict will be one shared by the overall footballing community, with there being several instances of 'sleeping giants' in English football being mismanaged by owners or ownership groups.

Wednesday remains, undoubtedly, the biggest on that front right now, whilst Coventry supporters will know exactly what those at Hillsborough are going through after entering administration in 2013, falling as low as League Two in 2017 as well as being forced to groundshare with Northampton Town and Birmingham City over the course of the last decade or so.

At present, though, there is a distinct possibility that the two clubs could be two divisions apart next term, with Coventry looking a real threat when it comes to automatic promotion heading into the October international break, whilst Wednesday remain in the bottom three as their recent unbeaten streak was ground to a halt.