Doug King drops hint on Coventry City's Premier League plans | OneFootball

The Coventry City owner has outlined his long-term aim for Coventry City

Coventry City have all but secured promotion to the Premier League following their 0-0 draw with Sheffield Wednesday.

Frank Lampard’s side need just one more point from their final four games to secure a top flight return for the first time since 2001.

The Sky Blues’ rivals Middlesbrough and Millwall both failed to win in their weekend clashes, meaning the gap to third place is now 12 points.

Victory against the Owls would’ve sealed their place inside the top two, but they still have four more opportunities to earn promotion.

Owner Doug King will be planning for life in the top flight in what could be a very busy summer at the CBS Arena.

The club will surely be looking to previous examples of teams who survived in the division as a template to follow, with Sunderland and potentially Leeds United both set to achieve that feat this season.

Doug King outlines Brentford ambition for Coventry City

King has opened up on his preparations for life in the Premier League, outlining the importance of building a sustainable model that won’t hamper the club’s finances, and his ambition to run the Sky Blues like a business.

He stressed the importance of Coventry being able to afford its business without needing significant investment from the owner, comparing his goals to what Brentford have achieved under owner Matthew Benham in the last several years, who have successfully turned major profits on player transfers since gaining promotion to the Premier League.

“I think we’ve seen that with Matt Benham at Brentford,” said King, via Coventry Live.

“I mean, they’ve still put plenty of money in but they’ve converted money into player value and then they trade, and then they get a bit more sustainable.

“And at some point they may sell some equity.

“I think he sold some equity and they work it all out.

“But they do it in a proper business way rather than, ‘I’ve got a load of money’ way and let’s go and do what we want to do because I want to have a team that’s top six in the Premier League.”

Brentford sold key forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa last summer in deals worth £71 million and £55 million, respectively.

The Bees also received a reported £6.7 million from Tottenham Hotspur in order to secure Thomas Frank as their new head coach ahead of the new campaign.

Despite these departures, and the appointment of rookie head coach Keith Andrews, Brentford are in the mix for their best Premier League finish since gaining promotion in 2021.

The London outfit have finished 13th, ninth, 16th and 10th in the Premier League, and are currently seventh.

Brentford are also in contention for qualification for European competition, with the team just five points adrift of a place in the Champions League for next season.

Meanwhile, Coventry are top of the Championship table, 10 points clear of second place Ipswich Town, albeit the Tractor Boys have two games in hand.

The gap to third place Millwall is 12 points, with the Lions having just four games remaining.

Next up for the Sky Blues is a trip to face Blackburn Rovers on 17 April in an 8pm kick-off.

Coventry will need to be smart to survive in the Premier League

Brentford have invested heavily in building a network of data-driven scouting that has been the bedrock of their success in the Premier League.

The London outfit are competing against clubs with vastly greater resources, so being smart in the transfer window and making huge profits on player sales has been necessary for them to remain in the division.

Coventry will have to follow a similar model, at least at first, if they are to have any chance of survival next season.

Sunderland and Leeds both showed last summer that investing in the team is important, but it still required making very shrewd moves in the transfer market, as Burnley have not had the same success under Scott Parker.