Frank Lampard set to return to management with Coventry

Lampard has been out of work since ending his second spell at Stamford Bridge in May 2023 but is the frontrunner to succeed Mark Robins at the Ricoh Arena, the PA news agency understands.

Robins was surprisingly sacked earlier this month, after a seven-year spell where he led the Sky Blues from League Two to a Championship play-off final and FA Cup semi-final.

If a deal is agreed, Lampard could be in charge for Saturday’s clash with Cardiff.

Lampard, 46, retired as a player in 2017 and in May 2018 took on his first managerial role at Derby, who he led to the Sky Bet Championship play-off final in his first season.

Derby lost out to Aston Villa in the final and the following summer Lampard returned to Stamford Bridge, where he had spent 13 years as a player, signing a three-year deal to replace Maurizio Sarri as manager.

Lampard guided Chelsea to fourth 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 sacked in January 2021.

After a year out of the game, 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 the previous season but, after nine defeats in their first 12 Premier League games in the following campaign, Lampard was replaced by Sean Dyche.

Chelsea reappointed Lampard as their caretaker manager until the end of the season in April 2023 after they had sacked Graham Potter, but the former England midfielder won only one of his 11 games in charge.

Lampard, who had a 21-year playing career, is Chelsea’s record scorer with 211 goals in 648 appearances in total and his 106 England caps place him joint-seventh alongside Sir Bobby Charlton on the all-time list.