"There is less pressure" - Coventry City: Frank Lampard lauded as focus turns to West Brom | OneFootball

Lampard looks to have pleased Sky Blues fans so far after four points from his first two games in charge

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Frank Lampard is still very much in the infancy of his head-coach role at Coventry City, but his team have shown encouraging signs of progress so far, with a draw and a win from his opening two games in charge.

Lampard was appointed as the Sky Blues' new boss on November 28, following long-standing manager Mark Robins' departure earlier in the month, and he has seemingly taken to his new role well so far.

The ex-Chelsea and England midfielder's previous experience as a manager in the Championship came with Derby County, in the 2018/19 campaign, as he led the Rams to a play-off final loss to Aston Villa, but his task at the CBS Arena is a much bigger one this time around, with Coventry's well below-par performances this term being a major factor in Robins' sacking.

However, just two games into his tenure in the West Midlands, Lampard looks to have steadied the ship, and Sky Blues supporters have been pleased with what they have seen from his side so far.

Fan pundit pleased with Frank Lampard's short time as Coventry boss so far

Lampard's new era at Coventry got off to a respectable start with a 2-2 draw at home to Cardiff City, who had taken the lead twice but were pegged back each time by both Ephron Mason-Clark's early strike and Victor Torp's late penalty.

The 46-year-old then took his new team to Millwall over the weekend, and ended their nine-game unbeaten run, as Mason-Clark poked home Jack Rudoni's cross just after the hour mark to seal the Sky Blues' first win under their new manager, and end their own run of five games without a victory.

Lampard has taken four points from a possible six up to now, with Coventry looking a lot safer in 14th place, and our Sky Blues fan pundit, Ryan Murphy, has spoken of his happiness at how the former Derby boss has done so far, after we asked him about his early impressions of the new boss after his first two games.

"His first game (in charge) against Cardiff was very poor, however, it was probably good for Lampard to see us at our worst and see what he needs to improve in terms of players, the formation, personnel and tactics," Ryan told FLW.

"He learned a lot more in that game than he would have if we'd had won and everything had looked all rosy. We managed to still come away with a point, so that was good, that we didn’t lose.

"Going into Millwall, we looked a lot better. Especially in the second-half, we were definitely the better side, and it ended up with the win that we deserved.

"We could have won that by two or three in the end, and to get that clean sheet as well, our first clean sheet in a long time, we’ve had a very poor defensive record this season, which isn’t really like us over the last few years.

"To get four points from two games, and a clean sheet, now we have hopefully got a bit of confidence and momentum going into another tough away game at West Brom.

"I’d probably say this is the biggest test of his three games so far. It’s a place that we don’t really ever come back with anything from.

"It was great to get the win at Millwall, and go in with full confidence now.

"West Brom haven't been doing great lately. They are unbeaten in 11 games, but the majority of them have been draws.

"I’d be happy with a draw. If we can go and get three points that would be amazing, but for me, let’s just go there and keep this unbeaten run going.

"We’ve got a good run of fixtures coming up after that. You’d fancy us, on paper, so hopefully we can kick on now.

"There is less pressure. If we’d had lost one, or both, of Lampard’s first two games, then the pressure from the media and everyone from the outside looking in, because it’s Frank Lampard, would have been on us from the off.

"Now we’ve sort of eased that a bit, and given ourselves a good chance of getting something from West Brom, going into the game with confidence and four points from two tricky games.

"I’m very happy right now, and it’ll be interesting to see who he brings in, in January.

"Let's hope we can keep this run on over Christmas, get a couple of extra bodies in, and who knows, we could make a late push for the play-offs.

"Keeping this unbeaten run is the most important thing for now, game-by-game, and let’s see where it goes. I am very happy so far."

Lampard himself has been pleased with his new side's effort

It was never going to be easy following an iconic boss like Robins at Coventry, and while Lampard is in the very early stages of his tenure, still with a lot to prove, he has got off to a great start as yet and will hope that it continues into the upcoming busy winter schedule.

His first win at Millwall saw the Sky Blues dominate possession with 63% of the ball, have five more shots than their hosts, more corners, more passes, and also outscore the Lions on xG by 1.77 to their 0.48.

Lampard's post-match interview saw him express his delight at what his players produced in south-east London, but with a nod to how it was only small progress in the grand scheme of the whole campaign.

"The first half was a bit slow from us, it's not easy to come here and the conditions were obviously very difficult," he told BBC CWR.

"But there were things we could have done which we didn't do which made it difficult in the first half, it was a bit passive from us.

"But we got some messages across at half time and I'm really, really proud of them - we played quicker, created chances and probably should have been two up before that last five to 10 minutes when we had to suffer a bit.

"But really pleased with the character, really pleased with the personality of the team and it's a nice win.

"It's a small step forward because there's a lot to do, but we're very happy."

It is clear that manager, players and fans are all on the same page at Coventry right now, and long may it continue in their eyes, with a potential play-off push certainly not out of the equation if Lampard can continue to get the best out of his squad.

For now though, he will likely be taking it game-by-game, and they face a tough test away at West Brom next up, before a run of games against Hull City, Portsmouth and Plymouth Argyle that looks kind to Lampard, on paper.