Can Coventry keep Lampard? - Sam Parkin's EFL takeaways

Frank Lampard has guided Coventry City back to the Premier League after a 25-year absence, but could the Sky Blues face a fight to keep him?

Parkin: "They'll have to make a number of signings, that's the downside. Sunderland are a good example of that and it's kind of 'thank you and good luck' for some of them.

"The biggest thing will be Frank Lampard still being there and I think the way Doug King has spoken about him, I think there will be interest in him.

"He's such a determined individual when he was a player and now as a manager, because he's had a couple of knocks along the way, so I think there will be interest in him.

"The most important thing is that he's there next season, and his staff that he brought with him. It was a bit of a gamble for him and Coventry, but it's paid off massively.

"It's difficult to predict how they will do. They don't have that kind of really robust style that maybe Luton came up with a couple of seasons ago and upset a few people.

"They play good football, so they'll probably be quite open. Whether Frank changes that to be a bit more defensively-minded and pragmatic next season, we'll have to wait and see."

Ipswich host Middlesbrough on Sunday as the fight for the second automatic promotion place hots up. Southampton are also very much in contention with Millwall.

Parkin: "If Middlesbrough were to win at Ipswich then all of a sudden, you'll have four clubs battling for that second position, when for so long it looked like it would be Coventry and Middlesbrough fighting for the top two.

"Ipswich have obviously timed their run to perfection across the last three months or so. The strength of their squad, the home form in particular, just their quality that everyone knew they had that maybe wasn't apparent for the first half of the season. So they've really put their foot on the gas.

"Millwall are the surprise, although you can't call them that now because they've been up there for so long and had a comfortable win over QPR.

"Then there are Southampton, the latecomers to the party. They're on an unprecedented run of form and that's a massive credit to their manager.

"I think Tonda Eckert is really adaptable. He's very flexible in the way he sets Southampton up. We knew they had good players, but he's come up with game plans to get consistent results.

"They've won eight games on the spin. Can they win 10 on the bounce? I haven't got the record books in front of me, but I'd be surprised if that's happened too much in their history and that's the challenge they face."

Portsmouth have surged seven points clear of the relegation zone after beating Middlesbrough, Ipswich and Leicester in one remarkable week.

Parkin: "I didn't see it coming. In all honesty, if they did stay up, I thought it would be courtesy of the odd point, maybe it would go right to the end.

"Now it looks like it will be quite comfortable. They've had an incredible week, beating Middlesbrough last Saturday, beating Ipswich on Tuesday and now Leicester in a real relegation six pointer.

"They've had to cope with injuries too and Josh Murphy was on the bench today for the first time in an eternity.

"Conor Shaughnessy, a massive player for them, is having to be managed and even today, they lost Keshi Anderson and Terry Devlin early on in the game.

"It wasn't as good a performance as Ipswich, but the result is as big, if not bigger because of Leicester's position.

"The flip side is Leicester are very, very close to being confirmed in League One, a decade after they were Premier League champions. Imagine how their fans are feeling?"

Brian Barry-Murphy has led Cardiff City back to the Championship after just one season in League One.

Parkin: "Brian Barry-Murphy has done brilliantly and it's a big job. Not only because he would have been expected to challenge because of the resources and the size of the club, but he's changed totally how they play.

"I think for a number of years, Cardiff have probably been quite agricultural, quite back to front in the way they've played. They had great success playing that way, going back to Neil Warnock.

"But since then, there's not been any kind of consistency in terms of results or performances, so it was always going to be a big job trying to change the culture.

"He'd worked at Rochdale and then at Manchester City with the younger age groups and he was only going to play one way, playing passing football. So to do that at Cardiff, he deserves enormous credit.

"Lincoln play completely differently and they are two completely different sides in terms of the way they set up. They've gone at it all season and it will be great to see both of them in the Championship next season."

Notts County's defeat by Barnet means Bromley were promoted to League One for the first time in their history, just two years after they came up into the EFL.

Parkin: "They surprised a few last year and I think they only missed out on the play-offs by four points.

"Andy Woodman said the ambition was to go again this season and to try and get in those play-offs so to get automatic promotion with two games to spare, is an incredible story.

"They're so difficult to play against. They have an incredible unbeaten record at home and have arguably the best goalscorer in the league in Michael Cheek.

"They've had to do without him in the last few weeks and they've had a very able deputy in Nicke Kabamba, who has a good return of goals as well.

"I'm not sure what the ambition will be in League One, but I think they have that kind of underdog spirit that could be problematic for teams they come up against next year because they won't respect the opposition. They'll go and play their game and I wouldn't be surprised if they take a few scalps next season."