Gordon Strachan: Frank Lampard must avoid overspending at Coventry City

Former Scotland, Manchester United and Leeds United midfielder Gordon Strachan believes Frank Lampard must tread carefully this January and avoid splashing the cash on Premier League players while chasing promotion with Coventry City.

Lampard could be tempted to spend big as the Sky Blues push for a Premier League return, but Strachan says caution is key.

The former Coventry boss warned that chasing promotion too aggressively could jeopardise the club financially.

“Basically, no,” he said in an exclusive interview with BestBettingSites when asked if Coventry and Lampard should invest in the upcoming January transfer window.

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Money

“Premier League level players will want to go to the Premier League. They’ll not want to come down a league.

“Because what you’ll have if you look for Premier League players, you have to pay them Premier League money. 

“And then the boys that are there already are going, ‘Well, just a second. We’ve been battling away for ages. Getting to here, top of the league, flying, and these guys are walking in and picking up rewards without doing anything.’

 “Then you’ll have them all asking for improved wages.”

Dangers

He also highlighted the dangers of overspending, citing past examples from the English game.

“You have to have the mindset that Norwich, West Brom or Burnley have had when they’ve gone up. Those clubs know they can go down as well as up.

“They’re not going to spend money to have the club go into administration and liquidation.

“Like what you’re seeing with Sheffield Wednesday or Derby County. Leeds almost blew up when they spent big.

“I think you have to accept that and you cut your cloth accordingly. You can’t easily jump to that next level, if you ever can jump at all.

“Crystal Palace have done exceptionally well, but at some point someone will take their best players and their manager, and there’s no guarantee that they can repeat the magic.”

Forward-thinking

Strachan also paid tribute to Coventry’s previous manager, Mark Robins, as he felt he laid down the groundwork that Lampard has inherited.

“I think Mark Robins also needs some praise for what he did before Frank Lampard arrived,” he added.

“He was forward-thinking, a clever manager – he did an incredible job and laid the foundations for Frank to go in there and succeed.

 “He was able to get them to a solid place financially, with the new owner too. I think because of that, Mark Robins is still Coventry’s best manager since Jimmy Hill.”

Full comments from Gordon Strachan’s interview are available at BestBettingSites.

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