After 18 months away from football management, Frank Lampard returned to the dugout on Saturday in his first game as head coach of Championship strugglers Coventry City.

Up against relegation-threatened Cardiff City just two days into his new job, Lampard’s side salvaged a 2-2 draw with a controversial late penalty.

Telegraph Sport dissects the day and how Lampard got on ...

A warm welcome

“A new era begins today,” was the proclamation over the loudspeaker before the match. This Saturday afternoon at the Coventry Building Society Arena was all about the club’s new manager, and the pre-match chatter from every home fan streaming into the ground related to Lampard.

Although many Coventry fans still believe Mark Robins – whose status as a club legend is sacrosanct – should not have lost his job, the overwhelming sentiment was, if not outright excitement, intrigued approval for what Lampard might bring.

Support was not in short supply for the new head coach, and no sooner had the whistle gone at kick-off than Lampard was serenaded with a chorus of “Super, Super Frank…”

When Victor Torp then equalised with an 88th-minute penalty, the home fans launched into another rendition and applauded Lampard heartily as he completed a lap of the pitch after the match.

Emotions in check

To every camera trained on him, Lampard – ever the consummate footballing professional – fulfilled every pre- and post-match demand required of a new manager in the spotlight. Upon his arrival on the pitch, he ensured he earnestly shook the hand of every member of the opposition bench and stood up to acknowledge his new supporters when announced to the crowd, all without so much as a flicker of a smile. He did likewise at the final whistle. This is serious business and Lampard is a serious man.

He was dressed every inch the modern-day football pundit (which, of course, he has been for much of the past 18 months): smart-casual clobber, slick long coat and the ubiquitous white-soled blue shoes.

Lampard kept his emotions mostly in check, turning silently and walking back to his seat after both of Cardiff’s goals. He allowed himself nothing more than a raised arm and clenched fist when Ephron Mason-Clark struck for Coventry, nor exhibited any acknowledgement of Torp’s penalty. His involvement with players was entirely limited to encouragement, without any visible sense of anger or frustration towards them or the referee. Resolutely calm.

Substitutions work a treat

If Lampard could have hand-picked his first game in charge – and there exists a theory among some Coventry fans that he may well have done just that in avoiding Tuesday night’s trip to promotion-chasing Burnley – it would likely have been this.

Cardiff arrived in the Midlands without a victory on their travels and winless in their past four games. But there was little to split the teams during an entertaining encounter.

Having switched Coventry’s recent three-man defence to a back four, Lampard saw his side fall behind within five minutes to a Yakou Méïté header, before Mason-Clark volleyed in Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s excellent cross to equalise two minutes later.

Alex Robertson’s 30-yard piledriver restored Cardiff’s lead two minutes into the second half, but Calum Chambers was belatedly ruled to have handled a cross in the box late on, allowing Coventry to snatch a share of the points – a result that felt largely fair as the hosts grew into the game following Lampard’s three substitutions.

‘I’m low-key... this is not my moment’

After the match, Lampard made a point of thanking the home support for the rousing pre-match reception, but remained adamant that “I didn’t want to make it about me”.

He said: “I’m very thankful for the fans. I understand the legacy of the last manager, I’m not here to fight that.

“I’m a low-key person. That’s how I am. I’m here as a head coach. I’m not here as a celebrity. I actually shy away from those moments sometimes, even though people might not think that. I appreciate it, but it’s not my moment.”

He also insisted it is now down to his players to keep the supporters on side, adding: “We want more than a draw but they were very supportive. That relationship is all about us now. It’s about what momentum we can bring and what we can make this place for home games.”

Survival the top priority

A look at the Championship table suggests Lampard’s first mission is to avoid relegation. The club are only three points clear of the drop in a congested bottom half, and Lampard faces a crucial Christmas period against relegation-threatened Hull City, Portsmouth and his former England team-mate Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle.

Longer term, Lampard will know the expectation is to guide Coventry to the play-offs, if not this season then next. December will be spent getting to know his players before deciding whether to delve into the January transfer market, although Coventry were busy in the summer, so there is a definite sense that the club are underperforming. It is now his job to sort that out.