“Frank Lampard or Robbie Keane” - Paul Merson drops Coventry City claim following Mark Robins sacking | OneFootball

Paul Merson has spoken about the sacking of Mark Robins at Coventry City

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has tipped Coventry City to appoint a big-name manager following the sacking of Mark Robins, and has name-dropped both Frank Lampard and Robbie Keane as potential candidates.

The decision to conclude Robins' seven-year association with the Sky Blues has attracted plenty of criticism, while players were left in shock at his dismissal.

Robins had been the longest-serving manager across the EFL prior to his sacking (Harrogate's Simon Weaver spent many of his years in non-league after his 2009 appointment), having been in charge since 2017, when he returned for a second spell in the West Midlands.

Widely regarded as a genuine, modern-day legend at the CBS Arena, the former Barnsley and Huddersfield Town boss guided Coventry from the depths of League Two to a Championship play-off final in May 2023, where they were denied of an unprecedented return to the Premier League on penalties against Luton Town.

Less than a year later, Robins returned the Sky Blues to Wembley Way as they played out a thriller of an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United, dramatically overturning a three-goal deficit to once again take the affair to spot-kicks.

However, such emphatic milestones encouraged increased pressure and expectation, with owner Doug King having seen such close brushes with success on two occasions after his purchase of the club in January 2023.

Coventry City's 2024/25 form under Mark Robins

King backed Coventry during the summer in a bid to force them into the promotion reckoning this season after a ninth-placed finish last time out, with the likes of Jack Rudoni, Oliver Dovin and Brandon Thomas-Asante arriving to supplement a squad widely regarded as among the stronger in the division.

Demand had increased heading into the 2024/25 campaign but it never clicked this time around under Robins, who was ultimately sacked following a 2-1 defeat to Derby County on Wednesday despite having won his previous two matches against Luton Town and Middlesbrough.

They were two of his four wins from 14 matches, with Coventry left 17th in the Championship at the time of his sacking.

Indeed, Coventry still find themselves in the same position after Saturday afternoon, where they managed to claw back from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw away at league leaders Sunderland under caretaker boss Rhys Carr.

Coventry will be next in action on November 23, where they will host Sheffield United following the conclusion of the international break.

Paul Merson's Coventry City prediction following Mark Robins sacking

It's hard to escape the feeling that King will have to make a significant statement of intent regarding who he appoints as Robins' successor in order to save face with the Coventry faithful, who were left collectively heartbroken at the parting of ways with the hugely-popular boss.

A few names have been linked to the hot-seat thus far, including Blackburn Rovers head coach John Eustace and Swansea City assistant Alan Sheehan, as well as Wycombe Wanderers boss Matt Bloomfield.

Meanwhile, a recent report from Football Insider detailed that talks are set to commence with ex-Chelsea, Everton and Derby County boss Frank Lampard, who along with former Cov striker Robbie Keane is high up on the odds-compiler's lists.

When speaking on Sky Sports on Saturday, Merson explained that Coventry must bring in a big-name manager such as Lampard and Keane, who both possess stellar pedigree from their respective playing careers, after parting ways with someone like Robins.

Merson said: "If you’re getting rid of Mark Robins, you’ve got to bring in a name.

"You’ve got to bring in someone we’re going to be talking about. Some owners of clubs just want to be mentioned.

"If Coventry go and get Frank Lampard or Robbie Keane, we are talking about Coventry in three weeks’ time. We talk about Plymouth because of Wayne Rooney. Now it will be the same with Coventry.

"They will go big name. They will go with someone who we’re going to be talking about, surely, otherwise I just don’t see why they would have got rid of Mark Robins."