When Coventry City fan John Mullaney held up a home made banner on a scrap of wallpaper proclaiming “We’ll be back!” when relegation was confirmed at Villa Park in 2001, it ended 34 years of top flight football. Few envisaged it would take a quarter of a century to return but tonight the club officially booked their place back in England’s elite division as Frank Lampard led the mighty Sky Blues to their final point of a historic season. More than 7,000 of the Sky Blue Army took over Ewood Park to see the 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers which rubber stamped their automatic promotion and return to the Premier League. FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK! Get more Coventry City news and analysis via our FB page Jubilant fans sang, “We are Premier League, say we are Premier League…” as they celebrated with their magnificent team who have brought an end to years of hurt – almost two decades of misery before Mark Robins steered the ship back on course to calmer waters. Second tier mediocrity and a spiral down the divisions to the fourth tier amid financial struggles, stadium rows and a desperate season in exile to Northampton was replaced by a rise back to the brink of the big time. Robins and former CEO Dave Boddy plotted a difficult course through more choppy waters, including a two year stay at St Andrew’s, but there were plenty of days in the sun with four Wembley trips, two promotions and two play-off campaigns after the club had re-established itself back in the Championship. Doug King – the owner with the Midas touch who has overseen nothing but relative success – had ridden into town on his white charger in 2023, bringing an end to the Sisu years. Going on to buy the stadium last August in a move that finally brought the football club and ground that was built for it together for the first time in its 20-year history, King achieved what so many had failed to do before him. Although many didn’t know it at the time due to the painful end to Robins’ reign, but his masterstroke was appointing Chelsea and England legend Lampard shortly after in November 2024. Sat at 17th in the table after another slow start, the only way was up for the 47-year-old head coach who breathed new life into a talented group of players that drove to the play-offs where they were narrowly beaten in the semi-finals by Sunderland. But the Sky Blues regrouped and went again, getting off to a flying start that saw them top of the Championship by early October – a position they held until a mid-term wobble resulted in the team being overtaken by Middlesbrough for a week. But a statement win over the Teessiders was the first of six straight victories that saw them return to the summit, back in pole position for promotion. A single headed goal from Bobby Thomas – a late equaliser on the night – secured City’s Premier League status with three games to go, and super Frankie Lampard now wanting to finish the job in style by pushing for the title with the terraces now filled with banners reading, “We’re back!” 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.