Coventry: Same players, more goals and flying in the Championship

First of all, it is time to get the calculators out for some number-crunching.

Lampard has collected 92 points from his 46 league games in charge – an average of two points per game, which would have been enough to secure automatic promotion in seven of the past 10 seasons.

When he took over last November Coventry were 17th, two points off the bottom three and 10 away from the play-offs.

But they collected 52 points from 29 games – a return bettered only by the top three of Leeds United, Burnley and Sheffield United – in finishing fifth only to lose in the last minute of extra time in the second leg of their play-off semi-final with Sunderland.

This season has been even better. A return of 40 from 17 games is an average of 2.35 points per game and has them on course for a staggering 108 across the season, which would break Reading’s Championship points record of 106 achieved in 2006.

But it is the sheer number of goals that is really catching the eye. The four scored in Tuesday’s 4-2 win at Middlesbrough in the meeting of the top two took their tally to 47 in only 17 games.

The next best in the Championship are Hull City and Ipswich Town with 28 – a whopping 19 goals fewer, while their goal difference of 30 is 17 better than the next best.

If the Sky Blues maintain their rate of 2.76 goals per match, they would clock up 127 goals across the 46 games.

Peterborough United scored 134 goals in winning Division Four in 1960-61, but that is the most recent of any of the leading 14 tallies for a season.

Though in Premier League terms, Manchester City’s 100-point season under Pep Guardiola saw them score 106 goals at 2.78 per game but in only a 38-game campaign.