Frank Lampard confessed Coventry City are going through a “difficult moment” after their once-dominant lead at the top of the Championship has all but evaporated.
Queens Park Rangers defeated the Sky Blues 2-1, leaving them top of the table but level on points with second-placed Middlesbrough. The setback highlighted a concerning trend away from home, as Coventry is now winless in their previous seven road games.
The situation has shifted dramatically since November, when Lampard’s team maintained a 10-point lead after overcoming Boro. That edge has already vanished, transforming the title race into a straight shootout.
“We have to stay positive and focus on the next one,” Lampard told BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire. “We’re clearly going through a difficult time, but we’re still at the top of the league. The gap has closed, now it’s a race, and we need to recover swiftly.
Coventry had taken the lead through a Josh Eccles header, but QPR rallied with goals from Richard Kone and Nicolas Madsen to secure a significant victory, especially after losing 7-1 to the Sky Blues earlier in the season.
Lampard believed his team struggled to deal with critical facets of the encounter.
“We didn’t deal with the messy parts of the game well enough — second balls, a few duels — and we got punished,” he told ESPN. “Josh scored a beautiful goal, and Rudy played an excellent ball.
You expected a close game on this pitch against a tough opponent, so winning gives you confidence. But we couldn’t take it from there.
With the margin for error being gone, Coventry’s performance in the future games might be crucial in the promotion chase.
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