Coventry City head coach Frank Lampard admitted his side didn’t play to their usual level as they were beaten 2-0 by the Blues at the CBS Arena.

Second-half goals from Jack Clarke and Wes Burns saw Town to their second victory over the Sky Blues in a month, their first double of the season and their fifth win on the bounce against the Midlanders, who remain eight points ahead of second-placed Middlesbrough and 10 in front of the Blues, who are third.

“We didn’t play as well as we normally do and we came up against a good team, a strong team in this league, everybody knows that, and they played well,” the former England international said.

“Sometimes you have to credit the opposition and I think we were off it a little bit in probably energy, in bravery to play like we normally do.

“And they got a feeling in the first half of the game of having a lot of control of it. We pulled that back a bit in the second half and we had a bit more momentum about us, but not us as normal tonight and sometimes you credit the opposition.”

Coventry improved after the break having been very much second best in the opening period and Lampard was asked what he said to his team during the break.

“They had a lot of rotation, we know how they want to play and they take their time on the ball and I think we were sometimes getting coerced into trying to press because the fans wanted us to press and [we were therefore] opening up spaces between us,” he continued.

“I and we set up how we press and the lads had to know that and I thought we were better for that first 25 minutes of the second half.

“Sometimes when, if they stop the ball, we don’t move until they move the ball and that’s it.

“And I think we got dragged into that a little bit and I think [lacked] a little bit of bravery on the ball to play more ourselves like we normally do.

“We normally strike a good balance of playing and then going longer when we have to and playing behind a backline.

“And today we got dragged into just turning the ball over far too much and that gave them the sense of having a lot of possession and feeling in the game.

“So [at half-time], I wanted to shake the lads out of that, just remind themselves that at that point we’re 13 points ahead of Ipswich, who are a really strong team. We’re top of this league, play like it.

“I didn’t think the lads really had that sort of belief. It can happen, it’s not something that’s chronic that’s going to be a thing now, it’s just one of those days.

“A good team comes along and they beat it. We have to take it on the chin, stay humble, keep working and keep working with the goal in mind of what we want.”

Quizzed on whether his side should have been awarded a penalty in the second half when Darnell Furlong and Haji Wright collided, Lampard felt it was a foul, although replays indicated the clash was outside the box.

“I thought it was a foul, if it was in the box,” he said. “Somebody said to me it might not be in the box. If it was in the box, then I think it was a penalty. I felt that was quite clear. I haven’t had a chance to look at it again, that was my opinion at first.”

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