Frank Lampard has led Coventry City back to the Premier League after 25 years away. The manager urged fans to 'stay excited' as the club begins preparations following a title-winning Championship campaign. Coventry sealed promotion with a 4-0 win over Watford.
Coventry City signed off from the Championship with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Watford on Sunday. Ellis Simms scored a hat-trick, and Viktor Torp added a late goal, securing the title in style. Around 2,000 traveling fans stayed after the final whistle to celebrate with the players on the pitch, as first reported by 101 Great Goals on May 4, 2026. Lampard praised the moment, calling it one of the most rewarding periods of his career. “It’s a special story this year and this is right up there in the amount of pleasure I have had in football,” he said. “I’m living it and I feel very fortunate to live it. To be able to stand there today and enjoy the way the boys were playing, you don’t get to do that very often.” The promotion ends a 25-year absence from the Premier League. Lampard urged supporters to remain enthusiastic as the club shifts focus to top-flight planning. “They can just enjoy it and stay excited,” Lampard said. “The club has to do the hard work and the owner has said that he wants to talk about that from next week.” He emphasized preserving the strong bond with fans despite tougher challenges ahead. “We may lose more games next season than this but we must not lose that connection,” he added. Lampard highlighted the squad's depth after making seven changes for the Watford match. Several players had seen limited minutes recently, but they delivered a strong performance. “That was incredible from the lads after we made seven changes,” he said. “A lot of them haven’t had many minutes lately and you worry that will affect the performance. It didn’t. They played brilliantly.”