Frank Lampard says he will not disrespect Hull City as he prepares for Coventry City’s first home game in the Premier League for 25 years this weekend.
Coventry host the Tigers, looking to bounce back after losing 3-0 at champions Arsenal last Friday night in their season opener, while Sergej Jakirovic’s men beat Manchester United 2-0.
Despite the Sky Blues deservedly winning the Championship title last season and finishing 22 points ahead of City, Lampard’s side failed to score in both league games, which ended 0-0 at both ends of the campaign.
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Lampard’s men may be viewed as favourites by some, against a backdrop of excitement in front of a sold-out and expectant CBS Arena, the former England midfielder knows how dangerous Jakirovic’s men can be.
“You can’t disrespect Hull because they’ve just beaten Manchester United in their first game and they will be feeling very good about themselves. It is a different challenge to what Arsenal was,” Lampard said ahead of the eagerly anticipated contest.
“We’re honest about it, I will never talk Hull down, and I think the expectancy level from our fans and from everybody will be well, ‘Coventry can really compete’, and we may be favourites for this game when it was the opposite last week, but that becomes a bit irrelevant once the game starts.
“We have to understand they’ll make it very difficult for us. They had threats; their set pieces were clearly a threat last week. So, we have to understand all parts of the game. Do we want to focus on us and believe in ourselves about what we can do when we play here with a crowd behind us? Absolutely. So, I’m excited to see the team play from a long time of having a real competitive game here, I’m excited to see what we do.”
City caused plenty of surprise on the opening weekend of the season, by delivering a terrific display against United, scoring both goals from set-plays, something Lampard says his side must be wary of.
“They were impressive,” he continued. “I didn’t learn much, and I don’t mean that lightly. I knew they were a difficult team to play against. We drew nil-nil twice with them last season. They’re very well organised, always a transition threat and big boys. Set pieces will always be something to focus on. It was a very impressive performance by them, and I think you have to say well done for that because it was very organised.
“Very difficult to play through, and again they always maintained a threat, which is kind of how they played a lot of the time last season and why they’re in the Premier League.”
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