by Coventry have announced Frank Lampard as their new head coach on a two-and-a-half year contract.
The 46-year-old will take charge of the Sky Blues for the first time this Saturday when his new side take on Cardiff at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Lampard will be joined by coaches Joe Edwards and Chris Jones.
The former Everton and Chelsea boss told Coventry’s in-house media: “I’m absolutely delighted to be here, a club I have huge respect for in terms of history and tradition.
“I grew up at a time when Coventry was very successful. Being given the role of head coach is a huge deal for me, coming in and trying to help with the good work and the foundations that I think have already been laid at the club.
“It’s an ambitious club that wants to move forward and I want to help as much as I can.
“I want to bring an offensive team that is exciting for (fans) to see, a possession-based team that also wants to attack quickly at times.
“But of course we also want to be an aggressive team that wants to win the ball high up the pitch.
“There are some things that we’ll want to move forward on and (some) that maybe will change, and understand that in that process we’re going to have to do a lot of work to get the results that we want.
“But I’m certainly very ready to do that work and convey the message to the players, and I hope that reflects on the field.”
Lampard has been unemployed since his second spell at Stamford Bridge ended in May 2023.
Mark Robins was surprisingly sacked earlier this month, following a seven-year spell in which he led the League Two Sky Blues to a Championship play-off final and an FA Cup semi-final .
Coventry owner and executive chairman Doug King said: “I am delighted that Frank Lampard has agreed to join our club as head coach. Frank cut his teeth in the Championship and knows what it takes in this league to succeed.
“His subsequent experiences at Chelsea and Everton will ensure that he brings to our talented squad a clear understanding of what exactly is required to succeed at the highest level that we, as a club, strive to achieve.”
Lampard retired as a player in 2017 and in May 2018 took on his first managerial role at Derby, who he led to the Championship play-off final in his first season.
Derby lost to Aston Villa at Wembley before Lampard returned to Stamford Bridge, where he spent 13 years as a player, signing a three-year contract to replace Maurizio Sarri as manager.
Lampard guided Chelsea to fourth place in the Premier League and the FA Cup final, which they lost 2–1 to Arsenal, but after a poor run the following season saw them drop to ninth in the table , he was fired in January 2021.
After a year out, Lampard was announced as Everton’s new manager in 2022, but was sacked after less than a year in charge.
Everton had escaped relegation on the penultimate day of the previous season but, after nine defeats in their opening 12 Premier League matches the following campaign, Lampard was replaced by Sean Dyche.
Chelsea reappointed Lampard as interim manager until the end of the season in April 2023 after sacking Graham Potter, but the former England midfielder has won just one of his 11 games in charge.
Lampard, who had a playing career spanning 21 years, is Chelsea’s top scorer with 211 goals in 648 appearances in total and his 106 England caps place him seventh alongside Sir Bobby Charlton on the list of all time.
