Coventry told to worry about Derby points record as Frank Lampard’s problems exposed

Coventry have been warned they are already staring at a rock bottom Premier League finish after their 5-0 thrashing by Brighton. 

Frank Lampard's side saw their dreadful start to life back in the top flight continue on Sunday, as they fell to a fourth defeat in four league games.

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After Charalampos Kostoulas' opener put the Seagulls 1-0 up the interval, second-half goals from Malick Yalcouye, Pascal Gross, Lewis Dunk and Yasin Ayari condemned Coventry to a crushing defeat.

It marked a new low for the Sky Blues, who have now lost their opening four league games in a season for the first time in 107 years.

The result leaves Coventry rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table having conceded ten goals and scored none.

Having sealed a long-awaited return to the top flight by storming to the Championship title last term, Lampard's side were tipped to have the best chance of avoiding relegation out of the newly-promoted teams - ahead of Ipswich and Hull.

However, four games in, Coventry's tough start sees them languishing bottom of the trio, with the Tractor Boys sitting ninth on six points while Hull are flying high in third place.

Coventry labelled 'crap'

With Coventry already facing an uphill task to stay up, talkSPORT's Sam Matterface, Alex Crook and Troy Deeney have offered a bleak verdict on their chances this season.

With the Sky Blues yet to register a single point, the trio raised the question of whether they could beat Derby County's lowest-ever Premier League points tally of 11 points from the 2007/08 campaign.

Discussing their latest defeat on the Premier League All Access podcast, Crook jokingly called towering defender Lewis Dunk's long-range screamer for Brighton an ominous sign.

He began: “I tweeted to say, ‘When Lewis Dunk sticks one in the top corner from 30 yards, you know you're going down’."

Ex-Premier League striker Deeney was in agreement, who delivered a stinging assessment on manager Lampard and his side's displays.

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Deeney chimed in: “Four games in and he's already relegated them. 

“Do you know what? I'm going to be fair and I think you should join in with me on this - are you going to admit that Frank has lied to us?

"He told us this team was going to be good, they were going to be pragmatic, and they're crap.”

Presenter Sam Matterface was more balanced in his assessment, who insisted Coventry showed some promise when they were narrowly beaten 1-0 away by a strong Manchester City side.

He levelled: “I think you'll find last week they were excellent at Manchester City and they could have got something out of that game.”

Summer recruitment criticised

Despite his earlier defence, Matterface then claimed Coventry's summer transfer business puts them at an instant disadvantage.

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The Sky Blues splashed out £136m on new signings in a bid to strengthen ahead of their Premier League return, although few of these players bring proven top-flight experience.

Midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi joined the club as their record signing from Norwegian outfit FC Nordsjaelland - having never before played in England - while Loum Tchaouna was signed for £20m off the back of relegation with Burnley last term.

Elsewhere, Ethan Pinnock signed from Brentford having struggled for minutes in recent years, and Matterface insisted this is not enough.

He said: “The recruitment has been limited and I think they spent mid money on players who are on the fringes of Premier League teams.

“Like Tchaouna is probably a really good Championship player - I'm not sure he's destined for the Premier League. Pinnock has passed his best in the Premier League. I think that's the sort of player that they spent their money on."

With Coventry reportedly boasting the Premier League's lowest squad wage bill at an estimated £42m per year, Matterface insisted this leaves them almost destined to rank lowest in the table too.

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The presenter added: “The issue is that Coventry have spent money on fees, but they're not spending as much on wages as Hull are and as much as Ipswich are. I think if you look into it, that's definitely the case. 

“And the problem is if you've got the lowest wage bill in the Premier League - which they have - you're probably going to finish bottom of the table. I think they probably will.

"I think that Frank really would love to be able to play some sort of progressive style of football like they did last year in the Championship, but actually has tried to play a more pragmatic style in order to try and get points.”

Having labelled Coventry a doomed side, Crook asked if unwanted history beckons: "Do we think they'll beat Derby's points record?"

To this, Deeney admitted: “It’s not the worst shout.”

Matterface refused to write them off just yet though, as he snapped back: “Come on? It’s four games in.”