Six points clear at the top of the Championship as we head into January was more than any Coventry City fan would have expected when the season started in August.
But observers at Frank Lampard’s side have gone from debating which records they could break to whether or not they should be looking over their shoulders.
With just two wins in their last eight games, a team with great talent but no depth suffered through the intensity of December and early January.
Ipswich Town were 15 points adrift of Coventry at the start of December, and that gap could close to just five if they get their game in order.
Should Coventry be worried?
“This is the moment for Coventry to look at the big picture,” said Joby McAnuff Ski Sports Essential EFL podcast. “Anyone at the football club would have taken this position at the turn of the year. Now the question is what they need to do to finish the job.
“Strengths in key areas could give the club a real boost and a sense of freshness at this stage of the season. They need to be smart and make sure whoever comes in really improves the group. I fully expect them to shake off this spell and push on in the second half of the season.”
It is little surprise that Ipswich – who possess arguably the strongest squad in the league – closed the gap during such an intense phase.
“Coventry have had a regular, consistent starting eleven for a long time,” McAnuff added. “They’ve had a couple of injuries then and they’ve had to deal with that, especially up front. Haji Wright is gone and Brandon Thomas-Assante is gone.
“When you start playing this many games in quick succession, that squad depth is tested. If you look at recent games and it’s been tough, coming up against strong teams who have been in good form themselves.”
‘It’s about how you deal with the blip’
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Highlights from the Ski Bet Championship match between Birmingham and Coventry.
It’s rare that you don’t see a promotion-chasing team suffer a slump at any given time. Leeds blinked a few times last season, while Leicester did the campaign earlier. Both won the title.
A championship season is a marathon, not a sprint. And perhaps Coventry’s only crime was setting their expectation level too high early on.
“In situations like this, narrative is important,” said Tommy Smith Ski Sports Essential EFL Podcast. “It’s easy to look at short results and assume something is wrong.
“When you look at the bigger picture and Coventry’s place in the league, if they were offered that position at the start of the season after 26 games, everyone associated with the club would immediately take it.
“Context is essential. They are going through a brief dip in form, but maintaining the level they showed at the start of the season throughout the campaign was never realistic. They were throwing teams aside and that pace was always slowing down.”
“The decline was inevitable. What matters now is how they react to it.”
Saturday, January 17 at 12:00 p.m
Start at 12:30 p.m
A breather and a chance to bounce back
The winter program in the Championship is not for the weak. Coventry played 11 games between 22 November and 4 January, one every four days.
Lampard’s squad has been stretched to the limit, but they now have two weeks between league games, and changes are expected to be made for their FA Cup trip to Stoke.
Refills have already arrived. Young Min-hyeok, who spent the first half of the season on loan at Portsmouth from Tottenham, was brought in from Tottenham. The 19-year-old winger has already played for South Korea and attracted the interest of Real Madrid.
Romain Esse could join on loan from Crystal Palace, while work is also being done to add depth elsewhere.
“Anyone who has been involved in promotional campaigns knows that there is usually a lull at some stage in the season,” McAnuff added. “For some teams it comes earlier, for others it comes later. It’s important how those moments are handled.”
“What’s important now is that they get out of this run as soon as possible. If they can do that in the next game or two, get that positive feeling back and come back into the league with momentum, we’ll start to see the Coventry side we saw earlier in the season.”
Lampard has the experience and knowledge to ensure the blip doesn’t turn into something more.
Coventry are still big favorites for promotion
According to Opta, Coventry remain heavy favorites for promotion.
They should be second, however, according to the expected goals table…