On 25 November, Coventry City won 4-2 at Middlesbrough to move 10 points clear at the top of the Championship, while the Sky Blues were 13 points ahead of third place on Boxing Day. Now their lead has disappeared after a 2-1 loss at QPR and the chasing pack are closing in as Frank Lampard’s side stutter badly.
McLean: “Losing at QPR is a massive blow. It will give everyone chasing Coventry belief that they can go and catch them and overtake them. I’d probably rather be one of those chasers than Coventry at this moment.
“It’s a tough, tough period for Frank Lampard. If he manages to do it, it will show what a good manager he is.
“This is the first time he’s been at a club that is top of the division. Now it’s how you cope when you’re the big club at the top of the tree.
“They’ve hit a rough patch but the good teams recover from that. That’s where you are judged. Everyone goes through them but it’s how you recover.
“At the moment they are really struggling and it is giving the others huge amounts of confidence.
“The problem Coventry have now is they are trying to find form when Middlesbrough and Hull are flying – and Ipswich, who have definitely improved from the start of the season.
“As the points gap decreases, the confidence starts to drain away because they’ve been in a comfort zone for such a long period of time.”