Championship news: Coventry City secure title and return to the Premier League after 25-year wait
Promotion was confirmed for Coventry City after a late equaliser against Blackburn last week before Tuesday night's win against Portsmouth cemented their top spot after a superb season.
With promotion already sealed, it might have been easy for Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues to take their foot off the gas and coast towards the title - but Tuesday night's showing proved otherwise.
A 5-1 win against a Portsmouth side, who secured their own success in the form of survival, meant the title was won in style at the Coventry Arena.
The 2026/27 season will be their 35th in the top flight of English football as a historic club rejoins the most watched league in the world, writes Sports News Blitz’s Gabriel Mills.
Quick out the blocks
A few eyebrows were raised when Lampard took over as head coach at Coventry but the former Chelsea midfielder has proved each and every doubter wrong this season.
Coventry’s free-scoring nature at the beginning of the campaign almost defied belief - 34 goals in the opening 12 matches fired them to the top of the table.
With Haji Wright, Brandon Thomas-Asante and Ellis Simms combining for 39 league goals so far, the Sky Blues have had no shortage of firepower in attacking areas.
While further back, Matt Grimes has provided the team with a strong and dependable captain in midfield, starting every single league match so far this season.
Since taking top spot on October 4, Lampard’s side lost it for just a single week to Middlesbrough in February before snatching it back for the remainder of the season.
Weathering the storm
The season has not been without its difficulties, however, as the likes of Middlesbrough and Ipswich found real form around the turn of the year, threatening to undo Coventry’s runaway start.
From late December to early February, a 10-point gap to second place completely evaporated.
Two wins in eight during that period for the Sky Blues meant the chasing pack were snapping at the heels of Coventry - but six wins on the bounce steadied the boat and ensured the small stumble would not become a fall.
Highs and lows
After promotion to the First Division of English football in 1967, Coventry City established themselves as a mainstay in the top flight.
The club became specialists in survival, season after season, staying up on the final day on an extraordinary 10 occasions.
Dion Dublin had a role to play in that, scoring 58 league goals across four seasons before his move to Aston Villa in 1998.
A remarkable 34-year stint from 1967-2001 was the club's only time in the top flight until Lampard’s current side finally pulled them back to the Premier League.
Relegation from League One in 2016 meant Coventry played in the fourth division of English football as recently as 2017/18.
After a decade of financial difficulties and groundsharing with Northampton, a 70-mile round-trip, Coventry got themselves back on track and up to the Championship with Mark Robins at the helm.
A big ask for 2026/27
Premier League survival for newly-promoted clubs is proving to be increasingly difficult in recent years but Sunderland and Leeds doing so will give Coventry confidence they can do the same.
Acting fast and recruiting well in the summer transfer window will also be pivotal in staying in the division.
Sky Blues fans will hope the survival prowess of teams gone by will be present in Lampard’s 2026/27 campaign.
