Coventry City boss Frank Lampard believes his squad “needs help” in the January transfer window to build on their strong start to the Championship season and gain promotion.

According to a report from Coventry Live, the Sky Blues lost to Ipswich Town, perhaps the division’s deepest team, on Monday night.

The 2-0 loss at the CBS Arena was Frank Lampard’s team’s first at home this season and only their third overall. Coincidentally, two of those losses came at the hands of Kieran McKenna’s team.

Despite a December run of just two victories in six and two defeats against the current third-placed side, Coventry still have an eight-point lead over Middlesbrough in second and a ten-point lead over Ipswich, thanks in part to an unbelievable first four months of the season.

However, it is clear that Lampard’s side has suffered from a lack of squad depth over the course of the busy month, and the Sky Blues manager intends to remedy this in the upcoming January transfer window.

Frank Lampard discusses Coventry City’s January transfer window ambitions.

Coventry have stumbled into the January transfer window, having won two, drawn two, and lost two of their six December games.

Their already-thin squad has been stretched to its limits over the last month, and Lampard stated in an interview after his side’s 2-0 loss to the Tractor Boys on Monday that being able to rotate and keep the team fresh has aided some of Coventry’s opponents throughout the month.

“It’s why we should pat oursleves on the back as a group about what we’ve managed to do to this point in the season, stay absolutely humble about it, and understand we need to absolutely push ourselves to the limit at the minute with the squad we have to try and get what we want out of this,” said Lampard, according to Coventry Live.

“There are a number of players in our team who have played a lot of individual minutes, and I can’t make changes at the end to bring in wingers [against Ipswich].

“Then I see [Jaden] Philogene come on, and you say ‘OK’, and that’s all. I don’t mean to seem prickly, but it’s the reality at this time.”

With the transfer market about to open on Thursday, Lampard believes that more bodies will be added to allow some of his key players to relax and prepare to continue their good start and secure promotion.

However, the Coventry boss does not want bodies just for the sake of having them, and has stated that any depth additions must be of high quality.

“We’ll see, won’t we,” he responded when asked if newcomers were expected in January. “I believe we require assistance for the squad because you simply have to look at squads that have gotten to where we want to go, and they are larger than ours, and freshness is essential.

“And quality, by the way, we can’t just hire anyone at any time at this football club. If you want to get better, you must bring in people who can assist and improve.

“So obviously we’ll talk about that.”

January additions will be unavoidable if Coventry City expect to build on their outstanding start.

After 23 games, Coventry has hit the 50-point threshold, putting them halfway to the tonne required to be promoted automatically last season.

This season, things are likely to be a little more typical, with roughly 90 points enough to finish in the top two, but nothing is guaranteed, and Lampard will understand that his team cannot afford to let up.

Teams below them will want to improve in the January transfer window in the hopes of catching up with the Sky Blues, so Coventry will also need to strengthen. A team rarely moves higher without receiving the lift that comes with a mid-season arrival.

So, all eyes will be on what Coventry can achieve in January. If Lampard has his way, there will be a few new faces at CBS Arena in the coming month.