Frank Lampard outlined his goals ahead of Saturday’s clash, aiming to see his Coventry City side competing more with the Championship’s top-tier teams this season.
The Sky Blues struggled against the three relegated Premier League clubs benefiting from parachute payments and deep squads last season – Leeds, Burnley and Sheffield United – dropping five of the six encounters, home and away, and collecting only a single point against the Blades.
And while his men didn’t defeat the Foxes, they gave a solid showing and were far from outplayed or overwhelmed. But Lampard still feels his team could have challenged their rivals more, saying: “No we didn’t lose but we can be better than today. But we’ve come away and you have to respect the game for what it is.
“But I think I always try and be the level-headed one because I feel people get excited and you go into a season and we’ve started and our performances have been really high. But the duration of the season you will see teams like Leicester, like Ipswich, like Southampton with power and their squads. So we just have to focus on ourselves.”
As for his first experience of an M69 derby, asked if he enjoyed the occasion, the head coach said: “It’s not always easy to enjoy 90 minutes, especially when it’s 0-0 to the end and you’re kind of striving to not lose, and trying to win.
“But the fans were great. It was a great feel to the game – both sets of fans, but I can speak as manager of Coventry about our fans who were vocal from the beginning; pre-game, middle and at the end. I think they respected what the players put into the match and I enjoyed the derby.”