Blues Skies is back in fashion in Coventry. Frank Lampard has chased the clouds away and ended from a tumultuous campaign with a riot of celebration.
She rotated in the 17th when he was appointed at the end of November, torn apart by the dismissal of Mark Robins, the management hero who led them from the mud from the fourth level to the edge of the Premier League.
Lampard ran through the minefield after the Robins on his toes and the team slowly rebuilt them, steadily led them on the championship, soothing scars en route.
And they finished the season in fifth place and achieved a place in the play -offs thanks to two goals from Jack Rudoni, for a record in the CBS Arena.
“A fantastic day,” Lampard beamed. 'To make a play of where we are top of what was a really good period. It is brilliant to make the play -offs and the fifth in the competition.
“We can be happy, and that was not certain because Middlesbrough is a tough game and there was busy on the team.”
Rudoni's second, scored wild scenes among fans on the break in the 88th minute. They have witnessed difficult times since the Premier League relegation in 2001 after more than three decades that gravity in the TopFlight.
“I have always respected Coventry because of the history and tradition,” Lampard said. 'I remember the FA Cup final in '87, one of my first, but I did not realize that this fan base and the sound they make here.
'So if I have played a small role in it, I am happy, but I am a small role in it. I found it a pleasant club to work on. I hope that I don't sound like I am too far, but from the 17th to the fifth there is a big problem at the moment and many people have to take the honor and especially the players.
'There is still a lot of work to do. We are not there yet. '
Coventry bounces in the play -offs on a high and takes on Sunderland who faded at the end of the season without victories in six and five defeats in a row.
“Nobody will be fooled,” Lampard said. The first stage of the semi -final is on the CBS on Friday.
Middlesbrough traveled to the South, knowing that the victory would have given them a chance on the play-offs, but one day of extremes the defeat disappointed them in the tenth on 64 points, five less than last season and questions for their boss Michael Carrick, Lampard's former West Ham and England teammate.
“It's a pathogenic feeling,” Carrick said. “The boys were upset. It was quiet in the dressing room and you could see that it hurt them. And seeing me upset because I care a lot about them.
“I want to see them celebrate, but it is part of sports and you have to take it.”
Boro survived a strong opening by Coventry and grew in the game. Finn Azaz had an attempt on a pole by goalkeeper Ben Wilson and then Rudoni hit just before the interval that jumped in a cross of Tatsuhiro Sakamoto.
Wilson, back in the team for the first time since October, made more excellent rescues when Carrick's team responded in the second half, the best of them to deny Azaz again.
Coventry replacement Brandon Thomas-Asante made a fantastic impact. He hit a pole on one side and Morgan Whittaker hit a pole on the other before Thomas-Asante Burst to set up the second for Rudoni.
Cue parties. Lampard's coaching staff jumped on him and the crowd burst. There will work in the play -offs and more drama awaits, but the clouds have disappeared.