Coventry City managers ranked by win percentage as Frank Lampard battles Mark Robins for top spot

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Of all the Coventry City managers through the years, where does Frank Lampard rank? And is he doing a better job than Mark Robins did?

We’re coming up to one year of Frank Lampard being in charge of Coventry City, and he’s done pretty well for himself at the CBS Arena.

It was a rather controversial decision to sack Mark Robins at the time, but it’s all worked out well for Doug King and co. so far.

Lampard and Coventry are even tipped for promotion this season. If he can achieve that feat, Lampard will go down as one of the best Coventry City managers of all time regardless of win rate. But, let’s see how he matches up to his predecessors.

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The best Coventry City managers of all time

10. Jimmy McIntyre (39.83%)

In the pre-war era, Jimmy McIntyre took charge of 118 games for the Sky Blues between 1928 and 1931. He won 47 of those, and ended up guiding Coventry to their best league finish to date in 1929/30 by finishing sixth in the Third Division. However, McIntyre left the club after a fallout with the board over the sale of star players.

9. Jack Fairbrother (40.54%)

Also known as John, Jack Fairbrother enjoyed a playing career with Newcastle United, winning the FA Cup. He went into management after hanging up his boots, taking on the job at Coventry. However, Fairbrother only stayed there for a few months, winning 15 of his 37 games before moving on to Maccabi Petah Tikva in Israel.

8. Mark Robins (40.71%)

If we were to look at Mark Robins first spell at Coventry between 2012 and 2013, he would top the list of Coventry City managers. In that time, he won 17 of his 33 matches to register a win rate of 51.52%, but we’re here to look at the bigger picture.

When he returned to Coventry in 2017, Robins helped bring the club back from the depths of League Two and eventually getting them promoted to the Championship. In many ways, the Coventry success we see today is down to Robins.

He took charge of a whopping 387 games over a seven-year period, winning 154 of them before being sacked last November. Overall, Robins won 171 games for the Sky Blues.

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7. John Sillett (40.78%)

John Sillett was in charge of Coventry for four years, winning 84 of his 206 matches. But, if you’re looking for actual success among the Coventry City managers listed here, Sillett would be hard to beat. He helped the club win the FA Cup in 1987 by beating Tottenham Hotspur, in a game John Motson described as “the most exciting FA Cup final” he had worked on.

6. Iain Dowie (40.82%)

Modern football fans will know all about Iain Dowie, but Coventry fans would be forgiven for forgetting about his reign. He was in charge of Coventry City for one year, winning 20 of his 49 games, before leaving due to a disagreement with the board.

5. Harry Storer (43.66%)

Another bona fide Coventry City legend here. Harry Storer had two spells in charge of the Sky Blues, amassing 584 games as a manager for Coventry. If we looked at his first spell only, he would be second in this list (with 167 wins from 354 games). But, overall, Storer has 255 wins as Coventry manager, giving him a 43.66% win rate.

Storer won the Third Division title with Coventry in 1931 before leaving for Birmingham City. He returned to Coventry not long after, and for the sheer volume of games alone, he has to be respected as one of the most important and iconic Coventry City managers ever.

4. Roland Nilsson (44.19%)

The Swedish defender had two spells at Coventry as a player, so it’s not a surprise his first venture into management was with the Sky Blues. Nilsson originally took over from Gordon Strachan as player-manager on a caretaker basis before getting the job full-time.

After a strong start, Nilsson and his team became very inconsistent and fell away from the play-off race in the old Division One. He only lasted seven months, winning 19 out of 43 games before being sacked in April 2002.

3. Jimmy Hill (44.33%)

It’s safe to say Jimmy Hill is a Coventry City legend. He even has a statue outside the CBS Arena. The great thing is, Hill not only won the Third Division and Second Division titles during his time in charge of the club, he also changed Coventry from top to bottom.

Hill’s innovative ideas include changing the kit colour to sky blue, hence the nickname, and bringing fans and players closer together through fan events. He also pushed through plans to redevelop the old Highfield Road stadium. On the pitch, Hill managed 125 wins out of 282 games and is right up there as one of the best and most important Coventry City managers to date.

2. Eric Black (45.45%)

The manager with the shortest tenure on this list is Eric Black. He only got to 22 games in charge of Coventry, before he was sacked for inconsistent results. The funny thing is, Black actually had a 45.45% win rate, notching ten wins from his brief spell.

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1. Frank Lampard (46.34%)

Here he is, the man of the moment! Frank Lampard worked wonders in his first season in charge, taking Coventry from the bottom half of the table to the play-offs. During his tenure, Lampard has broken a number of records, too.

Coventry’s unbeaten start to the 2025/26 campaign is their best-ever start to a season. He also oversaw Coventry’s best run of form in 55 years with a run of eight wins in nine games back in February and March 2025.

Lampard has momentum and consistency on his side as he looks to steer Coventry to promotion this term. As things stand, at the time of writing, his 19 wins from 41 games have him top of the list of Coventry City managers. There’s every chance he extends that lead by the end of the season.