Coventry City seal Premier League return after 25 years away

Blackburn Rovers vs Coventry City. Sky Bet Championship.

8:00pm, Friday 17th April 2026.

Ewood ParkAttendance: Attendance19,657.

Coventry City have sealed their promotion to the Premier League for the first time since dropping out of the top flight in 2001; Frank Lampard's Sky Blues have confirmed their spot in the top flight with three games to spare

Friday 17 April 2026 23:29, UK

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Coventry sealed their return to the Premier League after 25 years away after a 1-1 draw at Blackburn.

It looked as though the promotion party was going to be delayed when Ryoya Morishita put Blackburn ahead early in the second half at Ewood Park.

But Bobby Thomas rose late to head in a free-kick to get the point they needed to get over the line.

Now, after three relegations, 15 different permanent managers (including Mark Robins twice) and four different grounds, Coventry are a back in the big time.

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Coventry were on the front foot early on but Rovers should have hit the front in the 13th minute when Ryan Alebiosu's delightful cross found the onrushing Yuki Ohashi six yards out but he headed straight at Carl Rushworth.

The Sky Blues were nullified by their disciplined hosts but a deft Ephron Mason-Clark pass freed Jack Rudoni in the 27th minute and he skilfully evaded two tackles before blasting into the side netting.

Rovers drew first blood in the 54th minute but it was messy from Coventry as Alebiosu was allowed to cut inside and Frank Onyeka could only divert his effort into the path of Morishita, who superbly steadied himself before lashing in from eight yards via a Thomas deflection.

Lampard proves the doubters wrong

But the Sky Blues got the goal they needed and it is Thomas who will go down in the Coventry history books as he rose highest to meet Victor Torp's free-kick and emphatically headed beyond Toth to send his side into the Premier League.

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Coventry boss Frank Lampard speaking to Sky Sports:

"I'm proud. Sometimes, all managers talk about the players, but I am proud, and I'm proud of myself and the staff.

"The boys, me, Chris and Joe, drove up 15 months ago or whatever in a people carrier, and we went into a bit of an unknown, as you always go into a job.

"We've fallen in love with the players, how they've reacted, the fan base, how it's reacted. So it's right up there for me for what I may have achieved. I was fortunate to be in great Chelsea teams.

"Winning the Champions League and winning leagues was amazing. Sometimes I could thank Didier Drogba or John Terry for that.

"Now, to do this with this club in the circumstances that we've done it, for me, overachieving. I'm not belittling the players there. They've raised their game up by pure work, and I'm very proud to be the manager of that."

Coventry are there. Back in the Premier League after 25 years away, and a lot has happened since.

Back in the Premier League... We chart the fall and rise of Coventry since 2001

Sky Sports' Curtis Davies, who played under Lampard in 2018/19 at Derby:

"You have to give Coventry credit. After losing the play-offs last year, and with uncertainty about the direction of the club, you wondered if they could repeat what they did under Frank. They've stepped up even more.

"Last season, only Burnley and Leeds had a better record than Frank Lampard's Coventry. To continue that after the play-off setback shows the mentality he's instilled in the group.

"My relationship with Frank was slightly different because at Derby I got injured, so I didn't really play under him. I was watching training, observing him and Jody (Morris) and what they did.

"Even though we reached the play-off final and lost to a strong Aston Villa side, he learned the Championship. He understands that while you have a way you want to play, sometimes you just have to go somewhere and win a game.

"He took that experience with him. After going to Chelsea and working in the Premier League, coming back to the Championship, he remembered those fundamentals.

"When he went into Coventry, a side that was struggling after a long period of previous success under Mark Robins, he hit the ground running because he knew what the Championship was about. He kept things simple and worked with his coaches to implement his style gradually.

"He said he wasn't too bothered about playing a three or a four. He would play what the game allows. That's refreshing for a modern manager, especially someone who was an elite player, to say he'll do what it takes to win the game.

"What drives Frank is his self-motivation. He doesn't need the money, he doesn't need to be a manager. He wants to be a success.

"After how he was portrayed following his second spell at Chelsea and his time at Everton, it's good to see him rebuilding his reputation and taking a team to the Premier League on his own terms."

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"2001, the last time Coventry City played in the top flight, relegated by bitter rivals Aston Villa. Now, for the first time in my lifetime, I am finally going to get to watch my team play in the Premier League.

"Growing up, it wasn't easy being a fan of Coventry. I've experienced relegations, points deductions, groundsharing at Northampton and Birmingham, leaving me and every other fan thinking: why always us?

"But the lows of the falls have made the rise feel even sweeter. We have been through so much we deserve this more than most. Even our last title was ruined by the Covid outbreak when we were top of League One.

"It makes me feel proud to support this team, nothing is ever easy, nothing is ever normal, but that is what makes us Coventry City.

"Admittedly, we may get regular 30,000-plus attendances now with a new generation of supporters coming through in the successful years, but no one will ever be able to take away from me that I was there in that League Two season, supporting my team no matter what.

"In the next few weeks, there will be tears, there will be hugs, every emotion you can ever imagine. This doesn't happen often, it is time to enjoy, it is time to celebrate like there's no tomorrow.

"It almost brings me to tears just saying this, my team, Coventry City, will be in the Premier League next season, after enduring years of pain, drama and tears.

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Sky Sports EFL Editor Simeon Gholam:

"Coventry City is Lampard's fourth club, and fifth role overall. There has been more success in the past than naysayers will have you believe. There was Derby's journey to the play-offs, taking a Chelsea side under a transfer embargo to Champions League qualification, and keeping Everton in the Premier League.

Lampard proves the doubters wrong again Read it here...

"But this latest success, promotion with the Sky Blues, undoubtedly caps the lot. Taking over a club from one of the most popular and successful managers in their history in Mark Robins - who was sacked in November 2024 amid a tidal wave of fury from fans to whom he was a hero.

"Lampard, off the back of things going sour at Everton, a miserable second spell at Chelsea - albeit as a caretaker - and more than a year out of the game, was not a well-received appointment.

"It was time to prove himself again. And he has done just that. Lampard took them from 17th in the table into last season's play-offs - where they heartbreakingly lost to Sunderland in the semi-finals. And he has gone one better this year with automatic promotion.

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