Frank Lampard could face big West Ham decision - Coventry City fans should rest easy though | OneFootball

Coventry City shouldn't be too fearful of losing their manager to Premier League side West Ham

Graham Potter is high on the list of potential Premier League manager casualties as we head into the first international break of the season, and Frank Lampard has been touted to take his place.

The Hammers started the season terribly, shipping eight goals in their opening couple of league games and letting a late lead slip in the EFL Cup against Wolves.

As a result, feelers were put out for the Coventry City boss before West Ham won 3-0 at Nottingham Forest last weekend, according to a report from Football Insider.

The Sky Blues boss has made Coventry into one of the more exciting Championship teams to watch in the little under a year he's spent in the dugout at the CBS Arena, and the former Everton and Chelsea head coach is proving that he truly is a Premier League-level manager.

Lampard has a history with West Ham, having burst onto the scene as a player at Upton Park before he spent over a decade at Chelsea, and a return to the Hammers as manager would be a story which writes itself.

But, right now, the West Ham job seems one of the most unenviable positions in football, and Lampard should know better than to depart a post where he is beloved by fans and is building a solid promotion-level side.

Frank Lampard is building something special at Coventry City

Coventry were severely underperforming when Frank Lampard took over from Mark Robins last November, so the side, which was 17th and just two points above the drop zone at the time, didn't need a drastic change.

In the end, Lampard proved to be exactly what the club needed, as the Sky Blues began to take more chances and thus began to shoot up the table.

They picked up the fourth-most points in the division last season since his appointment, just three fewer than Sheffield United, thanks in part to a run of nine wins in 10 between January and March, and their performances in their play-off semi-final defeat against Sunderland arguably warranted a place at Wembley.

The fact that Coventry were able to retain their key players this summer shows the willingness to buy into the manager's vision and improve on their fifth-placed finish of last season, and through four games, Frank Lampard's side have been frightening to come up against.

They've averaged 3.5 goals per game in the Championship so far this season, and have netted five against Derby County and seven against QPR. Their defence may need some shoring up, and the arrival of Luke Woolfenden from Ipswich Town should help with that.

If it does, then the Sky Blues have to be among the favourites for a legitimate top-two push, and if they are, why would Lampard want to leave that project?

Coventry City fans shouldn't stress about Frank Lampard, West Ham United links

Despite the clear links between Frank Lampard and West Ham United, there shouldn't be any real fears about the Coventry manager jumping ship just yet.

The manager's seat in the dugout at the London Stadium is incredibly hot. West Ham's fans are a passionate, loyal bunch, but they're not exactly the happiest with the direction the club is going in, and with the newly promoted sides starting well in the Premier League this season, there are growing concerns about the future of the club in the top flight.

Whilst Lampard was never relegated as Everton boss, he only managed a 27% win rate in his year-long reign at Goodison Park, which he then followed up with one win in 11 back at Chelsea. Whilst he has clearly grown as a manager since then, he should be looking at his most recent records in the Premier League as a warning sign not to leave just yet.

The fans at the CBS Arena love him and believe that he will be the man to take Coventry back to the Premier League for the first time since the 2000/01 campaign.

And ultimately, wouldn't that be the better story than a return to a position where he will find himself immediately under pressure to generate results?