Football Daily - Frank Lampard x Tom Grennan - The Football Interview

Episode Date: August 29, 2026

In a special episode of The Football Interview, singer-songwriter and Coventry City fan Tom Grennan sits down with Frank Lampard ahead of the club's first home Premier League match in more than 25 years. They reflect on a memorable season that saw Coventry secure automatic promotion and discuss whether they will need to prove the doubters wrong this season, as well as how they must adapt their game to compete at the highest level.TIMECODES 01’00 - When Frank Lampard took the Coventry job 2’35 - How did automatic promotion feel? 4’52 - Does he have to prove the doubters wrong? 6’10 - How different will Coventry’s football adapt in the Premier League? 7’34 - Who out of his former teammates would he put in his Coventry team? 8’20 - What does he deem a success for Coventry?

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An entire generation of Sky Blues fans have never seen this club in the top flight until now. And I'm about to meet the man who broke the 25-year exile and brought magic back to this club. Coventry City, Frank Lampard. Hover! The Football Interview on the Football Daily podcast. The Boardroom. You need to change the carpets in here though. How are you?

I'm all right, how are you? Good to see you. Good to see you. Hey, great. I'm in the interviewer chair today. I like it. It's all right, isn't it? Yeah.

I feel like I belong here. Yeah, a friendly face. Isn't it? Well, we first met in 2004 at Soccerade. You're my gaffer. Before all these lot, you're my gaffer. Yeah. And I remember speaking to you about maybe potentially coming here,

and I've still got the text message on my phone when you got the job. Do you remember what you said? It was early morning on the drive up, did I swear? You did. Yeah, you did. It would have been something like up the cob or something like that.

It was like an extra word in there. For me it was such a good feeling because I knew like, I remember saying to you, if you do go to cove, they're gonna love you up here. Yeah. And a lot of people don't realize how big this club is. And then when you come here, you just see it and you go, wow. I didn't realize.

Obviously Coventry when I was sort of coming through as a platter, they're always in the top division. Yeah. It's always had respect for it as a club. and then obviously looked from the far sort of difficulties they went through. Yeah. But you're right. We were, yeah, we did Socoray, didn't we?

And you were a stand-up player, by the way. You were made the match. I remember Harry's telling me, because Harry Rednapp did it with us. Then he was like Tom Grenad and he went, he could have been a player. He could have been a player. And you played like that. But I remember the conversation and I remember Coventry was obviously, I've been out of work for a little while.

Sokroy was like a nice break in the middle of that, actually, which is great. It feels like ages ago now. But then when the opportunity came up, you know, things like that, with my head, your conversation, I didn't realize until I got here, the size of the club. And it was a difficult moment, you know, managers left, Mark Robbins had left. So I think my first game was like 20,000, 22. You can feel like that feeling. But then as momentum started to grow and it's all, you know, it's all nice history now.

But this place was rocking and got full up. And I realized the city and the fan base and the history was a massive big deal. Yeah, man. You're a legend in Coventry now, man. At the minute. You are. You always be. You always be. You had so much success as a player, but when automatic, promotion was finally locked in, did that winning buzz feel different as a manager than being a player?

Yeah, it did. It's different, yeah. I even get a bit of goosebumps when you say it, because people ask me that question a bit, and they asked me that as soon as we got promoted, and it's hard to sort of balance that, you know, like winning the Champions League with Chelsea, I couldn't put those moments down at all. They're amazing. Winning in Munich was the best football in my life as a player by far. Yeah.

But then when you do something with a club that's been through what it's been through, when you work with a group of lads that are so great, there's a dressing in a moment, dressing them I've never experienced, especially as a coach, to have such a good group. And then the link between fans and players. And when you're the manager, the responsibility that you take on every day, for good and for bad, you take defeats badly, you take wins, great. And then when it all happened and we got promoted against Blackburn, like, I had a rush of like pure emotion and everything, it all came on top of me. So it certainly goes right up there and the things I managed to achieve in the game.

I was here on the last game the season when the cup was lifted. I remember just seeing you outside on the mic and I was so proud man. Like what a feeling man. No thanks that was a great day. I had my family, you know my two youngest children were here with Christine and... I was sat next to them. Yeah yeah so that that was special you know what I think the things in life and in football and I'm definitely um I've failed at this sometimes is taking in a moment you know as a player.

I don't know if you feel it in what you do sometimes you get used to and you go my next thing's coming My mum actually said this recently, like to take in the moment. When I'm on stage, for example, just stand there, look out to what you have done and what your team have done and what my team have done. You have to do them. You definitely should. You've got so much more ahead of you. And hopefully I have in my own way.

But with a little bit of experience, you should take on your mum's words there because it's really easy to go, you know, the stresses of the show that you're doing and the stresses of that. That was a moment at the end of the last season where I could actually. go wow, we've achieved something a lot here, personally as well. And stand there with the mic and sort of thank the fans and it's surreal a little bit because 18 months before, I mean, a people carrier texting you not knowing where this journey is going to go. And then you're standing there and going this comes back in the Premier League. It was special.

You've already managed at the very top of Chelsea, Everton, but rebuilding Coventry and bringing them back up feels like a totally new chapter. Stepping back into Premier League this season, do you feel like you have something to prove to the doubt was outside, the club? Always. It's the thing about modern day football, music, whatever, you're brilliant one minute and then you might not be brilliant the next and everyone will let you know that. So you've got to be careful like trying to prove every doubt or wrong because it's not possible. Have I got that inner drive to prove people wrong or show myself as my best, try and get better every day? Yeah, I always have that anyway. So I know the challenge is different and it's going to be difficult. One of the beauties of being here, we've been lucky, these boys have won a lot

of games. It's great. Come in to work again on the Monday and it's great. Go again, lads. We're going to have different challenges this year. Yeah. So my personal ambition to prove any doubt is wrong is sort of always there. But I tried to not let that be my driver. I just go take everything as it comes, get the team ready. Day by day, day. Day by day, learn a bit from experiences at Chelsea and Everton.

I've been in the Premier League as a player, I've been as a manager. I understand the challenge of it. I can't get ahead of myself and I can't worry too much about the outside world because otherwise you succumb to it. You'll be, you know, making different decisions even because of it. because of it. How different will the football be from what the football you've played already in the championship to where you're going into the Premier League?

Yeah, that's a great question because we spent a lot of the summer analyzing the Premier League. I watch the Premier League all the time, but when you're working in the championship, there's so many games you're getting golf, you start loving the champ, you just watch every bit and you're worried about your team. So this summer we've really looked quite deeply into the Premier League because it's evolving all the time. Without giving too much away and things remain to be seen, we want to keep hold of the good things

that we were last year, which was we could score any kind of goal. We could play really quickly through teams and counterattack. We could build and control a game and cross it and score like that. That's how modern day goals are scoring, a lot of transitions, things like that. So we have to keep those things. I think probably the biggest thing for us will be to adapt defensively in our sort of off the ball game because the level goes up a lot. The step is crazy. It's a big step.

You've only got to look year and year out, the amount of teams that do go back down. And that just shows you the quality level that we're coming into. We would be fools not to think that we would just go and play like we did in the champ every week and we'd dominate a lot of games, especially here. It won't be like that. So we'll have to find different ways to win games, to stay in games, to fight, to suffer a little bit. And there's also a mentality thing to that for us as a management, as players and as fans, the football club. We've had it off for 18 months. There's a lot of good feeling, a lot of good times.

It's great. We're celebrating on the bus and all those things. This year will be a difficult moment. So it's like we've got to be strong to be out to handle those things. you played with unbelievable players. If someone gave you a little magic wand and said, take a player from the players that you played with, who would you pick and why?

Well, I mean, that's a really tough one because there's so many. And I'm not putting my boys down. But, yeah, the difference, mate. Football at the top level is the difference, mate, is we talk a lot about there's the game in the middle of the park, which now is in the Premier League particularly, people teams are trying to cancel each other out and you win and lose games in the boxes.

It sounds really simple. I'd probably be drawn to it over a Didier drog bar. I was going to say jog bar. Yeah, because Did he had everything as a striker. He also had a massive personality. He could bring people with him. And he scores goals and it's priceless. And when goals are a premium and they won't be easy to come by in certain types of games,

Didier would always step up in those moments. An entire generation of Sky Blues fans have literally never seen this club at the top flight. Like, I haven't either. If he was sitting here in May looking back on the season, what has had to have what? What? What has to have what? What has to have happened for you to call it a total success? There's my dyslexia jumping in.

I think it's who's written it is the problem, not you? As I said before, I think it's hard to stand this league. It's been shown time and time again. There's some examples of a Sunderland and Leeds last year. I think a big difference for us is that a lot of our boys haven't played in the Premier League. We've got really minimal caps, like appearances, sorry, in the Premier League. So we need to learn quickly. I need to do my job on myself and the staff as well as we can to prepare.

can to prepare the players. We've still got some time in this window to try and bring him some players to help the squad, maybe some experience of playing, the quality to bridge that gap. But I've got a lot of faith in these boys that they'll give it everything. I think they will too. Yeah, and they always do that. And I feel a real hunger and a feeling from them.

People will say you lack Premier League experience. I'll say, yeah, maybe we do and we'll try and maybe sort that out in terms of the market. But I also think there's something about a hunger group that are going into something that haven't been there yet, sort of beautifulness, the energy to go, come and then let's take that on. Yeah, that's what you need is, too.

Yeah, and for us to stay in the league, you look at teams, I think you want to bring in players to help the squad, you want to bring in quality, but also we had an incredible spirit. If we keep that spirit and can add quality, then maybe by May, when we can say, we're staying in the league

and that would be a huge step for us. It's a hard one now. I know, everyone's gonna ask me, might be on its question, like, we'll just staying in the league be like your target, is that success? For me, I don't think of it. wait, of course it would be success because it's such a big challenge for us.

But in the beginning we go into it and go, let's stick our chests out and let's just be brave about it. These boys have earned where they've got to. So go in with our attitude. Not saying nothing to lose, of course, there's a lot to lose, but also go and show yourselves. But what an opportunity to be in the Premier League for the boys. They deserve it. So we're going to take it head on. One more question.

Are there specific things Joseph Marino or Carla and Cholotti have taught you that you take into your management role. Yeah, that they have. They're the two generally I'll talk about people go out all the managers you work with who's the best and I speak about them a lot sometimes I feel bad leaving out big influences as well. Harry Rendon. My uncle gave me my opportunity different managers Gus Heading but with Jose, the Jose and Carlo is a good example because they're like the both sides of the coin Jose was very on you very sort of like he transmitted his self-confidence but if you felt you stepped out of line or did something wrong you'd feel that getting it the strength of him whereas Carlo was like chilled and calm and when you look back you go that's a nice

environment to work in as well because it felt like he trusted you so I try and take little snippets I'm I'm probably somewhere in the middle and if I start to sort of sometimes go towards being Josie sometimes I go be a bit more Carlo you know I've learned that but young managers I found in my experience you come in and feel like you have to do things like you have to like criticize a bad performance or say something about an individual who turns up late all these things the more I've done this show I realize that we're all humans and sometimes a leg comes in you don't know the back story.

And so being, trying to jump on them and be this hard man manager, you go a bit more Carlo. But then if you're a bit more relaxed sometimes and people are, you know, on the pitch not doing their job, sometimes you'll be a bit more Jose. So I try and take those moments.

I feel like this place is going to be like the Coliseum. People don't know about the Coventry City fans. I think the first game here is going to be electric and excited. My friends have come up to game through last year, especially when we got on the run. They don't want to come. Now they all want to come.

I bet they did. And I'm like, no, no, you didn't come last year. You didn't come to like whoever. They're going to home last year, now you want to come to it. But I tell them when they come that you don't realize. I've played in, you know, Stanford Bridge was at home to me for so many years. I've played in these amazing stadiums, you go to the Anfield and stuff. This place has got something special.

I'm not just saying it. And away fans as well, but they really did something last year because they support the individual players as well as the team. Every player's got a song almost. That'll be tested this year because it'll be tough, but when this place gets rocking, I think you're right. We'll have to use it. We'll have to use it as a weapon for us.

And we certainly appreciate it. appreciate how the fans are. Frank, good luck, man. Thanks. Great speaking to you. And I'll be up here and I'll be cheering. Well, you're always welcome. You know, that.

Thank you, mate. This goes beyond what the KGB did back in the days. Conspiracy theories and the Football World Cup is there ever one without the other? Well, I've been digging into one of the very best back in 1994. Guy from Iraq gets a red card for a, you know, a dubious tackle. I'm James Montague. BBC 5 Live, this is Sports Strangers Crimes Presents, Shadows on the pitch.

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