Coventry City Kunci Gelar Juara Championship Usai Libas Portsmouth

Coventry City resmi dinobatkan sebagai juara EFL Championship setelah mencatatkan kemenangan telak 5-1 atas Portsmouth di CBS Arena pada Selasa malam, 21 April 2026. Hasil ini memastikan skuat asuhan Frank Lampard meraih trofi liga dengan menyisakan dua pertandingan musim ini.

Kemenangan besar tersebut sekaligus melengkapi kesuksesan The Sky Blues yang pekan lalu telah mengamankan tiket promosi ke Premier League. Kepastian kembali ke kasta tertinggi sepak bola Inggris itu didapat setelah hasil imbang 1-1 saat bertandang ke markas Blackburn Rovers.

Pencapaian ini mengakhiri penantian panjang klub selama hampir 30 tahun untuk kembali bersaing di level utama. Berdasarkan data klasemen, Coventry City berpeluang menutup musim dengan perolehan total 95 poin jika berhasil memenangkan dua laga tersisa melawan Wrexham dan Watford.

Atas keberhasilan memimpin Championship hampir sepanjang musim, Frank Lampard dianugerahi gelar EFL Championship Manager of the Season. Mantan gelandang Chelsea tersebut memberikan pernyataan emosional dalam acara penghargaan yang berlangsung pada hari Minggu.

"I was emotional the other night [securing promotion at Blackburn] because it dawned on me in that moment what we had achieved. A club that I walked into 16 months ago that had gone to the depths and back up, and football is always about people and always about supporters and I'd missed it." kata Frank Lampard, Manajer Coventry City.

Lampard memberikan apresiasi tinggi kepada jajaran manajemen klub dan keharmonisan skuat yang ia pimpin selama 16 bulan terakhir. Ia menilai kerja sama tim menjadi kunci utama di balik kesuksesan luar biasa tersebut.

"You have to credit Mark Robins [previous head coach] for what he did at the club, the owner Doug King and appreciate the moment, and I'm working with a great group of players. When you walk into a group forget the football talent, that's obviously important but when they look after themselves, they train well, they support each other, they have a laugh, that's the gold. It's an incredible story and I'm pleased to be a part of it." ujar Frank Lampard, Manajer Coventry City.

Meski sedang merayakan gelar juara, Lampard menegaskan perlunya persiapan matang untuk menghadapi ketatnya persaingan di Premier League musim depan. Ia menekankan bahwa klub harus bergerak cepat dalam melakukan pembenahan internal.

"There's a lot of work to do because we know the step that it will be for the football club. So that's something we have to work on quickly now because of where we're at, we have to be ambitious -- we're Coventry City football club. I know what the Premier League is and its going to be a challenge, we can enjoy the moment for the next two weeks, but of course we have to work behind the scenes to ensure we go up the right way." tegas Frank Lampard, Manajer Coventry City.

Kepastian gelar juara bagi Coventry City kini menyisakan persaingan sengit untuk satu tiket promosi otomatis yang tersisa. Dilansir dari Mirror, klub-klub seperti Ipswich Town, Millwall, Southampton, dan Middlesbrough masih berpeluang menduduki peringkat kedua di sisa musim ini.