Lampard recognises nervy Coventry

For Coventry City, after 25 years away, it was not supposed to start like this.

All the anticipation and the waiting has ended with a crushing dose of reality.

A second successive defeat will serve as a reminder that, despite the euphoria of their top-flight return, this season will be a constant battle.

Coventry can at least seek solace in the fact 10 promoted sides have lost their first two Premier League games and survived, the last being Aston Villa in 2019-20. But they will need to improve.

Sandwiched between an opener at champions Arsenal and a trip to runners-up Manchester City, the Sky Blues needed to take something against Hull City.

Yet owner Doug King looked on grimly from the stands as he watched time tick by and the Sky Blues fail to recover from Liam Millar's 82nd-minute strike.

The opening 3-0 defeat at Arsenal was understandable, but this defeat leaves them already playing catch up.

There was a nervousness about the Sky Blues, which was picked up by boss Frank Lampard. It is something which needs eradicating quickly.

"This season was always going to be very different to last season, but I sensed a bit of edge in the quality of our passes and playing it safe rather than playing it forward," he said. "Maybe that is apprehension, but I don't like the excuse of it."

Ashley Williams believes the defeat will hit Coventry's confidence.

The former Wales captain, who won promotion to the Premier League with Swansea in 2011, knows how crucial the early psychological blows can be.

"They blitzed the Championship last year and were full of confidence coming into the season, but after two defeats everything suddenly becomes that much harder," he said on Final Score.

"As players, you look at the table and it is not nice when you're at the wrong end of it. They will see they are already six points behind Hull City, which is a real kick in the teeth, and all those little doubts will start to kick in."