Frank Lampard has been confirmed as the head coach of Coventry, returning to the dugout 18 months after he left Chelsea. He succeeds Mark Robins, who was sacked after almost eight years in charge, with the club 17th in the Championship, two points above the relegation zone.

Lampard has been out of coaching since leaving his interim role with Chelsea at the end of 2022-23. That was a third Premier League managerial job in a row for the former England midfielder, who had a previous spell at a Chelsea and period with Everton, but he is familiar with the Championship.

Lampard started his coaching career in the division with Derby in 2018 and guided them to the playoff final in his only season. His first Coventry game will be on Saturday at home to Cardiff, who are one point behind. He has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract and will be assisted by Joe Edwards and Chris Jones, with whom he has worked with previously.

“I’m absolutely delighted to be here, a club that I’ve got huge respect for in terms of its history and tradition,” Lampard told Coventry’s in-house media. “I grew up in eras where Coventry have been very successful. To be given the role of head coach is a huge deal for me, to come in and try and help with the good work and foundations 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 exciting attacking team for [fans] to see, a possession-based team that also wants to attack quickly at times. But of course we want to be an aggressive team as well that wants to win the ball high up the pitch. There’s some things that we will want to move forward with and [some] that will maybe change, and understanding that in that process we will have to get a lot of work in to get the results we want. But I’m certainly very ready to put that work in and pass the message into the players, and hopefully that will show through on the pitch.”

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Coventry’s owner and executive chairman, Doug King, added: “Frank cut his teeth in the Championship and knows what is needed in this league to be successful. His experiences thereafter at Chelsea and Everton will ensure he brings to our talented squad clear understanding of exactly what is needed to succeed at the very top level that we as a club are striving to reach.”

Lampard will give a press conference on Thursday afternoon. In the space of five games from 14 December to 1 January Coventry face four of the seven teams currently below them: Hull, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Cardiff. Hull are looking for a manager after sacking Tim Walter on Wednesday.