Frank Lampard has led Coventry City back into the Premier League after Friday's 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers. The Sky Blues will be playing top-flight football for the first time since 2001 after a dominant campaign in the Championship.

Lampard has transformed Coventry since taking over at the CBS Arena in November 2024 when they sat 17th in English football's second-tier. The former Chelsea and England midfielder arrived at a side who were just two points clear of the relegation zone when he succeeded the long-serving Mark Robins. It is Lampard's fifth role in management, following spells at Derby County, Everton and two stints with Chelsea.

He went on to guide Coventry to fifth in his first season before losing to Sunderland in the Championship playoff semi-finals. The 47-year-old will likely regard automatic promotion this season as the greatest achievement of his managerial career so far.

The Sky Blues currently have 86 points and are also on course to claim the Championship title as well. Lampard's side sit 11 points clear of second-placed Ipswich Town with just Kieran McKenna's side having five games left to play

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Coventry can now look forward to playing the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City, home and away next season. The 2026/27 Premier League campaign begins on August 22 with the fixture list revealed on June 19.

Among those to send their congratulations in anticipation of their promotion were Stoke City boss Robins, who spent nearly eight years in charge at Coventry before being succeeded by Lampard.

He said: "They're going up. I'm really pleased for them. Frank has done a fantastic job. He took over from me in difficult circumstances and he's taken it to a different level. They will go up and they've got the stadium now and it looks certainly a lot more stable. Not only that, they've got a really good team, a top manager and they've done fantastically well.

"The owner has been incredible there, to be fair, and what he's done for the club, the city and what plans they have when they eventually get up, I'm sure they'll spend money and try to stay in there. It won't for him and certainly for the club and certainly for Frank be anything like going up and just staying in there for one season, they'll try to stay in there for good.

"It's taken quarter of a century to get back and that's come from a long way down the pyramid - a similar story, in some ways, to the Wrexham story - so it's been a long time coming. Good luck to them. I hope they enjoy their promotion and hopefully we can emulate them in the next couple of years."