WE’LL BE BACK BETTER, KING TELLS SKY BLUES FANS

DOUG King says Coventry City’s play-off heart-break will only fire up the club's determination to “come back stronger and hungrier than ever”.

- ANDY TURNER

In a message to the Sky Blue Army after the pain of the last-gasp play-off exit to Sunderland, the club’s owner and executive chairman stressed they will be doing everything to take the club into the Premier League next season.

And he says he is excited to see how working with Frank Lampard they can push for promotion by building on this term's overall efforts and added: “We know we have what it takes to succeed”.

King praised how Lampard and the players had revived a season from hovering above the drop zone to a top-five finish and a second play-off campaign in two years.

The Sky Blues were devastated after Dan Ballard’s header in the second minute of added time at the end of extra time cancelled out Ephron Mason-Clark’s goal at the Stadium of Light to give the Black Cats a 3-2 aggregate victory.

“That was a tough one,” said King. “Our team dominated over the two play-off legs yet came away empty-handed.