It’s often said that there’s no room for sentiment in football but not as far as Frank Lampard was concerned when he threw on Jake Bidwell just after the hour, followed by Kaine Kesler-Hayden ten minutes later – both getting some rare Coventry City pitch time after a season as understudies. The full-backs have provided back-up from the bench to first choice Jay Dasilva and Milan van Ewijk in the Sky Blues’ historic campaign, Bidwell making just two Championship starts and Kesler-Hayden four. But with City comfortably 3-0 up and threatening more in a ruthless second half against Portsmouth at a rocking CBS Arena where the fans were in full party mode celebrating their team securing the title, Lampard made his changes in recognition of the parts the defenders have played this season, albeit not necessarily in matches. FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK! Get more Coventry City news and analysis via our FB page “Yeah, it was a reward for them in two different circumstances there,” explained Lampard, who is a huge fan of 33-year-old Bidwell, whom he gave a new contract extension to within months of taking over from Mark Robins, such was the player’s influence and experience on and off the pitch. “Bidders has been around so long and his professionalism is one of the best I’ve ever seen, for sure. How he’s handled this season, not playing because he’s desperate to play because of his professionalism. He’s affected others in a tough moment where some players are not playing. It can be difficult, it’s human nature but Bidders is the one that’s there and setting standards, so he deserves it and I wish I could play him more minutes. It’s just Jay has been fantastic.” Switching to last summer’s signing from Aston Villa, who went on for the last 15 minutes and popped up with the fifth goal of the night when he struck home a delightful first touch shot from a Jack Rudoni cross – his second goal of the season, Lampard told CoventryLive: “And then for Kaine on the other side, he came into the club and ends up behind Milan, and that’s difficult because Milan’s been voted the other day, quite rightly, as the best right-back in the league. “So Kaine’s stuck with it. He’s a talented boy, he’s very well liked in the dressing room and I was really, really pleased for him and he got what he deserved because his training in recent weeks – and I understand it to have a bit of a lull at at some points of the season because of we’re all human – but he’s training really, really well and I wish I could give him more minutes. And he got some tonight and he scored the goal, so it’s a great story.” Every day, the CoventryLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Coventry City content. Our dedicated reporter Andy Turner – who you can follow on X – follows the Sky Blues home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between. So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur – that’s why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you’ll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. You can also get all your favourite content from CoventryLive’s Sky Blues team on WhatsApp. Sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club.