Richard Keys fires Burnley & Sunderland warnings at Coventry City & Doug King | OneFootball

The club will be fighting to survive in the Premier League next season.

Coventry City may be revelling in their Championship title glory, but they have already been sent a stark warning about life in the Premier League.

After cruising to a 5-1 victory over Portsmouth, the Sky Blues emphatically clinched silverware, having been the runaway leaders in the second tier for some time.

However, now the hard work truly begins as Doug King and co must build a squad capable of defying the odds and surviving at the top table.

Indeed, lifelong Coventry supporter Richard Keys has referenced last season's promoted sides, Sunderland and Burnley, when sharing his thoughts on what the club should do in the transfer window.

Coventry City told to follow Sunderland transfer example - or face relegation

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus gives the okay ahead of North East derby.

Reuters

Sunderland have defied the odds in the Premier League this season, having been promoted via the lottery of the playoffs last term and are now a safe mid-table side.As for Burnley, they did not spend quite as much as Sunderland and have subsequently struggled under Scott Parker, suffering an instant relegation to the Championship.

When the Black Cats were promoted, they were on everyone's list for the bottom three, with most believing they would finish bottom of the pile and rightly so.

However, their owner, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, assisted by directors of football Florian Ghisolfi and Kristjaan Speakman, who has since departed, managed to acquire a host of talented players from across Europe, with almost all of them having a positive influence at the Stadium of Light.

The Wearsiders spent north of £150 million on 14 new players, and Keys believes that Coventry must do something similar if they are to remain a top-flight side.

"I’d take 17th now. I think we’ve got some good players, but are they all good enough for the PL? Who knows? That’s part of the puzzle," he said via his blog.

"I’d break the bank to keep the ‘keeper Rushworth, but you’ve got to be realistic.

"Owner Doug King’s choice is very simple - either spend £100m like Sunderland or nothing like Burnley. The outcome would likely be the same as it is for those two teams this season."

The truth behind Sunderland, Burnley and Leeds United's spending

Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs places his glove over his mouth.

Reuters

Keys is correct in that Sunderland did spend substantially more than Burnley, although the Clarets did outlay just under £100 million, according to Sky Sports, so perhaps it is not about how much you spend, but how you spend it.

The Black Cats bucked the trend by scouring Europe for relatively cheap deals, with Robin Roefs, Nordi Mukiele, Omar Alderete and Reinildo arriving for a combined £34.9 million.

The point is, the North East club spent their money wisely and brought in Roma's director of football to lure players to the Stadium of Light.

On the other hand, Ipswich Town, who spent north of £100 million the season before, as per BBC Sport, opted to spend their money on Championship players who had higher asking prices.

Clearly, that has helped the Tractor Boys as they strive to return to the Premier League on their first attempt, but it did not help them in their quest for survival.

It is almost worth noting that Leeds United spent roughly £5 million more than Burnley, and they are in a very strong position to stay up at the first time of asking.

They also utilised the European market admirably, bringing in Anton Stach, Gabriel Gudmundsson and Noah Okafor, amongst others, all of whom have played a great part in their survival bid.

So while Keys is right about King needing to spend substantially to survive in the Premier League, he would be wise to follow Sunderland and Leeds' lead and acquire European talent for considerably less.

That way, the Sky Blues can bring in more players for less money rather than paying over the odds for English talent.

What has Doug King said about summer spending?

King has obviously spoken about the need to retain the club's identity, and he has already referenced Sunderland and Leeds' spending, hinting that he does not want to rip up Coventry's team but follow the Peacocks' model and keep a core number of players from the title-winning side in the starting line-up.

The West Midlands club possess a number of talented players that they could build the team around, including Jack Rudoni, Bobby Thomas, and perhaps eventually, Carl Rushworth, but to survive, they will need to add greater quality to this team.