Coventry: Same players, more goals and soaring in the championship

First, it’s time to get out the calculators to do some math.

Lampard collected 92 points from the 46 matches he played in the league, with an average of two points per match, which was enough to secure automatic promotion in seven of the past ten seasons.

When he took charge last November, Coventry were sitting in 17th place, two points off the bottom three and 10 points off the play-offs.

But they collected 52 points from 29 games – a tally bettered only by the top three, Leeds United, Burnley and Sheffield United – as they finished fifth but lost in the final minute of extra time in the second leg of their play-off semi-final with Sunderland.

This season has been better. Their 40 point return from 17 games averages 2.35 points per game and has them on course for an impressive tally of 108 points all season, which will break Reading’s Championship points record of 106 set in 2006.

But it’s the sheer number of goals that really catches the eye. The four scored their goals in a 4-2 win over Middlesbrough on Tuesday in a meeting between first and second places, raising their tally to 47 in just 17 matches.

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

If the Sky Blues maintain their average of 2.76 goals per game, they will score 127 goals in 46 games.

Peterborough United scored 134 goals in winning Division Four in the 1960–61 season, but this is the most recent of all the leading 14 goals for a single season.

Although in Premier League terms, Manchester City’s 100-point season under Pep Guardiola saw them score 106 goals at an average of 2.78 per game but in just 38 matches.