Pulis: How Lampard must handle Coventry's poor start in the Premier League

Tony Pulis told BBC Sport on 17 September 2026 that Frank Lampard is confronting a difficult start at Coventry in the Premier League after his side lost all four of their opening league games, and that how Lampard responds to those defeats will determine what happens next.

Pulis said managing a newly-promoted team in the top flight demands adjustments to higher technical standards and greater physicality, and he believes the gap to the Championship is widening. He urged tailored preparation for each opponent, stressing that a promoted side must be organised both in possession and out of possession because Premier League teams counter-attack with greater efficiency. Pulis also warned that leaders must manage their own time and energy to avoid being drained by inevitable losing runs.

Addressing the psychological side of management, Pulis said managers must not look deflated after heavy defeats and must instead rally the squad. "I can tell you now that, whoever you are playing, if you get beaten - and especially beaten heavily like Coventry were by Brighton on Sunday - then it resonates with you. It's the same for every manager," he told BBC Sport. He added, "That's what all good leaders do," and recounted that he had to present a composed front and refocus players after setbacks during his own managerial career.

Pulis set out Coventry-specific concerns: the side have lost all four Premier League games so far, they have not yet scored a goal, and they remain the only top-flight team without a point this season. He noted Tottenham are the only other Premier League club yet to score a league goal, and reiterated the defensive point that "On average, clean sheets earn you more points than scoring a goal," underlining the need to balance both ends of the pitch.

Drawing on his experience with Stoke after promotion in 2008, Pulis described pragmatic recruitment and quick problem-solving as key. He recalled that after a poor start he pursued Matty Etherington from Tottenham and signed James Beattie from Sheffield United in January to add crossing and goals, and that both players "played a significant role in keeping us up." He also said Stoke’s only win in their first seven league matches was at home to Aston Villa.

Pulis compared Coventry’s transition from Championship dominance to Premier League defeats with other promoted teams' varied beginnings, invoking advice he received from Steve Coppell: "It was Steve Coppell who said to me how you have to deal with the fact you are going to lose a lot of games - or at least not win a lot of them - when you take a team up into the Premier League. Steve told me to get ready for going on runs where we would not win for five or six games on the bounce, but then if we could win two or three games in the same period after that, we would fly up the table." He argued Coventry over-achieved last season by finishing clear at the top of the Championship.

Pulis highlighted other promoted and newly managed sides, saying Hull, promoted under Sergej Jakirovic, have "started the season on fire" and are third at the moment, and he observed that if Hull finish 17th in May that would mirror their earlier outcome under Phil Brown. He said he will be taking a closer look at Hull's progress in the weeks to come, as well as the other promoted team, Ipswich, and noted he had given Gary O'Neil his senior debut with Portsmouth in 1999 and that O'Neil has Premier League experience with Bournemouth and Wolves.

He reviewed the influx of new managers across the division, mentioning there are nine new managers in the Premier League this season and singling out Enzo Maresca at Manchester City, who began with "four league wins out of four," and Xabi Alonso at Chelsea after a draw with Hull. He referenced Andoni Iraola preparing to take his new team back to face his old one at Vitality Stadium on Sunday, and he described Alvaro Arbeloa's coaching background at Real Madrid and his recent first-team spell. Pulis said he will monitor several of these clubs closely and invited readers to suggest topics for future columns in the comments; Tony Pulis was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.