Coventry City boss Frank Lampard has urged the club’s supporters to only worry about their game when they host relegated Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship on Saturday (12:30 BST).
Should Millwall fail to win at West Bromwich Albion on Friday (20:00 BST) then Coventry will know a win would mean Middlesbrough must beat Portsmouth at the Riverside at 15:00 BST to prevent the Sky Blues celebrating automatic promotion this weekend.
“Just worry about us,” Lampard told BBC CWR when asked for a message for the supporters.
“I know they won’t, but we know what we need to do, and thankfully we’re in that position [rather than,] if it was nip and tuck and the last day of the season. We’re not, so just worry about us.
“The message for our fans, for our players, and for me to understand is this game is not going to be all our way just because of their league position, but if we can do our thing, then we can make the game feel like we want it to.”
Wednesday became the first team in the history of the EFL to be relegated as early as February, and have won only one league game in a season dogged by financial and ownership issues, and Lampard empathised with their situation.
“I felt it in our game there earlier in the season, when they were right in the middle of their problems as such, and they are ongoing. But you could feel it in the stadium, and their fans were good on the day.
“I grew up when Sheffield Wednesday were a top team in Division One and the Premier League, so it’s not nice to see the situation they are in, but I think the fans, players and staff have come out of it with credit. And they will be back, because it’s a big club, so I obviously feel for them on that.”
