Coventry City are on the verge of returning to the Premier League after a 25-year hiatus.

Frank Lampard’s side now leads the Championship table by 11 points over third-placed Ipswich Town.

Middlesbrough are in second place, nine points behind the leaders, and have played one more game than the Tractor Boys.

Four wins and a draw from the club’s remaining seven games will be enough to formally secure promotion.

However, summer planning will have already begun, with Coventry likely looking to Leeds United and Sunderland for ideas on how to stay in the top flight in the long run.

Doug King opens up about Coventry City’s promotion windfall

Owner Doug King has confirmed how much Coventry will gain in broadcast revenue from promotion to the Premier League, amid speculation that a spot in the league might be worth up to £200 million to the club.

He has also linked Sunderland and Leeds’ recruitment techniques, implying that the Sky Blues will need to find a comparable approach that works for them if they want to stay in the league for the long run.

“I believe it’s £122 million [in broadcast revenue],” King told Coventry Live.

“Not that I have looked!

“I believe that is our challenge [to remain competitive], and senior relevant people will deliberate on what we should do [with recruitment].”

“Leeds won the championship last season in a unique way.”

“They made some changes, but they still have familiar players from the Championship who play for Leeds now.

“Sunderland finished third (fourth) last year following a significant drop down at the end of the season to the play-offs.

“I believe they received 75/76 points, or something close to that, and they clearly thought that they needed to do more, such as create a football squad on a larger scale.

“So everybody’s got to look at their situation and only they will know their players and what they’re trying to achieve, and we’ll do a similar thing.”

Leeds won 100 points on their way to the Championship title last year and are currently only a few points clear of the relegation zone with seven games left.

Meanwhile, Sunderland sits 11th and is practically safe from relegation under Régis Le Bris, who supervised their promotion victory over Coventry last season.

Lampard will be hoping that his club can achieve automatic promotion this year, but his long-term goal is to replicate Sunderland and Leeds’ Premier League form.

Coventry lead the Championship table with only seven games remaining, nine points ahead of Middlesbrough in second place.

Before the March international break, the club had won seven of their past eight games, putting them in a great position to return to the top flight for the first time since 2001.

Promotion will have a significant financial impact for Coventry.

Promotion is so valuable to Championship clubs that it has the potential to reshape their fortunes.

However, King will have to decide how much to spend in the summer, as investing the large windfall of Premier League TV money may not be worthwhile if the club fails to improve.

Financial stability will be critical for the club in the long run, so if they can maintain a balance of current and new players, it will be an incredible accomplishment.

Sunderland and Leeds have both demonstrated how to compete in the Premier League, but it will be difficult to replicate that success.