Soccer-Lampard stays upbeat as pointless, goalless Coventry search for lift-off

Soccer Football - Premier League - Coventry City v Brighton & Hove Albion - Coventry Building Society Arena, Coventry, Britain - September 13, 2026 Coventry City manager Frank Lampard looks dejected after the match Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

LONDON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Positivity is ⁠not the easiest commodity when your team has lost all four Premier League ⁠games without scoring a goal but it remains the mantra for Coventry ‌City manager Frank Lampard and his coaching staff.

Lampard led the Sky Blues back to the top flight for the first time in 25 years by winning the Championship last season, but the opening month has ​been a stark reality check.

Things reached a worrying low ⁠last weekend when Coventry slumped to ⁠a 5-0 home defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion while a midweek League Cup exit ⁠against ‌Aston Villa hardly helped the mood ahead of Saturday's clash with Nottingham Forest.

"It's our job, it's our job to do it, we have to be the ⁠first ones to be positive and focus on the work ​that we feel we ‌need to do which is forever changing with modern-day squads," Lampard said when ⁠asked on Thursday ​how important it was to avoid negativity creeping in after a tough start.

"We have to focus on fitness and the tactical elements so if we don't have the positive energy then ⁠it's going to be very difficult for everyone else.

"We've ​got a good relationship with the players because we've worked closely with a lot of them and had a lot of success together, so that's a great start and the ⁠players that have come in need to understand that and buy into that.

"For any team to succeed at whatever level and whatever context it needs that kind of driven positivity."

The club's fans have remained firmly on board despite a lack of cheer so far, ​singing until the bitter end of the chastening defeat ⁠by Brighton. Lampard said the players must reciprocate by showing the same mentality on the ​pitch.

"Sometimes it is human nature to feel down but ‌we just have to focus on the work ​that we have got to do to keep trying to improve, to keep trying to get results," he said.

(Reporting by Martyn HermanEditing by Christian Radnedge)

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足球 - 英超联赛 - 考文垂城队对阵布莱顿队 - 英国考文垂考文垂建筑协会体育场 - 2026年9月13日 考文垂城队主教练弗兰克·兰帕德赛后神情沮丧。（图片来自路透社/保罗·查尔兹）

伦敦，9 月 17 日（路透社）——当你的球队在英超联赛中四战皆负且一球未进时，保持积极乐观并非易事，但这仍然是考文垂城队主教练弗兰克·兰帕德和他的教练组的座右铭。

兰帕德带领蓝月亮队时隔 25 年重返顶级联赛，赢得了上赛季的英冠联赛冠军，但开局的第一个月却给了他们当头一棒，让他们认清了残酷的现实。

上周末，考文垂主场0-5惨败给布莱顿，球队的处境令人担忧。而周中联赛杯被阿斯顿维拉淘汰，更是让球队在周六与诺丁汉森林的比赛前士气低落。

兰帕德周四被问及在开局艰难之后避免消极情绪滋生有多么重要时表示：“这是我们的工作，这是我们的职责所在。我们必须率先保持积极的态度，专注于我们认为需要做的工作，而这些工作在现代球队中总是不断变化的。”

“我们必须专注于体能和战术要素，如果我们没有积极的能量，那么对其他人来说就会非常困难。”

“我们和球员们的关系很好，因为我们和他们中的很多人密切合作，并一起取得了很多成功，所以这是一个很好的开始，新来的球员需要理解这一点并接受这一点。”

“任何团队要想在任何级别、任何情况下取得成功，都需要这种积极进取的精神。”

尽管至今为止球队表现不佳，球迷们依然坚定地支持着球队，在惨败给布莱顿的比赛结束前，他们仍然高声歌唱。兰帕德表示，球员们也必须在球场上展现出同样的精神面貌来回报球迷。

“有时感到沮丧是人之常情，但我们必须专注于我们必须要做的工作，不断努力改进，不断努力取得成果，”他说。

（Martyn Herman报道，Christian Radnedge编辑）

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