'Not a problem for me' - Frank Lampard reacts after losing out on award to Leeds United boss Daniel Farke
Coventry City enjoyed an almost perfect month with their only blot a 2-0 defeat against Leeds United.
Frank Lampard congratulated Daniel Farke for pipping him to February’s Championship Manager of the Month award - but the Coventry City boss insists his main focus is away from individual accolades.
Lampard enjoyed an excellent month as manager of Coventry, with four wins in five games propelling them from mid-table obscurity to play-off contention. The Sky Blues’ form has continued through to the March international break and they currently sit fifth in the Championship, with the expectation they will remain in the top six until May.
The one blot on a near-perfect month for Coventry came against Leeds, however, with a 2-0 win for Farke’s side at the CBS Arena the first of just two defeats Lampard has suffered in 12 matches. That result also kept momentum running as the Whites did enjoy 100 per cent month, also beating Cardiff City, Watford, Sunderland and Sheffield United while scoring 18 goals in the process.
Frank Lampard’s message for Daniel Farke
“Well done to Daniel. I really like Daniel,” Lampard told Coventry Live. “He’s one of the most friendliest and accommodating managers when you go against him, other than the fact he’s got a great team at the minute that beat us pretty well in our game. But he is a gentleman and fair play to him, he deserves it.
“Those things are nice, you know, and can mean incredible amounts but what means the most for me is us winning and trying to get better and improving. Those things are great and when you get them they’re a nice touch, for sure, and I’m absolutely not putting them down.
“But not winning that award isn’t going to not make my day. It’s not a problem for me. I want to just continue working and I know Daniel’s record last month and for months has been really good. So he’s a good winner.”
Farke continues Manager of the Month curse
In claiming February’s accolade, Farke made history as the first Leeds boss to win five Manager of the Month awards. The German has won twice this season in February and December, while a trio of victories in the previous campaign came in November, January and February.
Farke and everyone else at Leeds will echo Lampard’s sentiment, with the ultimate goal being to win promotion, and after picking up that February award the 48-year-old’s side have faltered a little. March has brought just one win in four so far, with a first defeat in 18 coming at Portsmouth while points were dropped against West Brom and QPR.
That run, and the defeat at Portsmouth in particular, fuelled superstitions surrounding the Manager of the Month award, with winners often going on to drop points immediately after. But Lampard is trying to avoid looking into that kind of stuff too deeply.
“I’m trying to knock superstition out of my head in football because you can end up with walking a tightrope all week, day to day, to try and get a result from things will have no consequence on the result,” he said of the ‘curse’. “And it can become a problem, you know. And so it’s quite tiring. So while I’m not old yet, but with my age I’m trying to cut those things out.”