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It was the nightmare before Christmas for new Coventry City manager Frank Lampard. Just five games into his stint with the Sky Blues, the England and Chelsea icon saw his team thrashed 4-1 by Portsmouth - and their fans took great delight in taunting him. In the first half, Coventry could easily have found themselves ahead and cruising having gone 1-0 up inside three minutes. However, after Norman Bassette's opener, Portsmouth star Callum Lang rattled in a stunning four goals from four shots on goal at Fratton Park. His first, a long range strike, somehow made it through goalkeeper Bradley Collins far too easily. The second came after he battled inside the box from the right flank, and rapped a shot home despite being hauled over. Lang has never been the most prolific, bar an 18-goal campaign with Wigan in 2021/22 - but he burst further into life at the start of the second period. His hat-trick goal was a fine first-time finish from Freddie Potts' cross into the box. And the fourth just about summed up the afternoon for Lampard's men as Lang tucked home a rebound after Collins only just kept out a shot from Colby Bishop. That made Lang, who hit his first hat-trick in senior football, the first man since Yakubu in May, 2004, to score four goals in a game. The Premier League legend hit his quartet on the final day of the 2003/04 season in a 5-1 win over Middlesbrough. And Portsmouth supporters were loving every minute of their turnaround, taunting Lampard, who might have been forgiven for thinking he was about to hit his straps in the Championship. They chanted 'Lampard, what's the score' while former Liverpool midfielder Ray Houghton admitted he was concerned about what had transpired on the south coast. "I'm just looking at the technical areas, " he said with three minutes left on the clock. "Frank Lampard's actually just sat down now. John Mousinho's still out there trying to encourage his players. He'll be delighted with the reaction he's got after the defeat to Derby last time out. "For Frank Lampard, it'll be worrying, just the way they capitulated and the goals they've given away today" Lampard was quick to acknowledge his team - from back to front - had underperformed. Asked about the poor defensive display, he said: "Yeah, everywhere really because defensively it's a team effort. So, first half, in general play, OK, difficult game here. They make it difficult, so we credit them for their performance all in. The first half was even, two mistakes gives them two goals. "But second half, no, not good enough. You know, easy to see. And the first one I've had here really where I feel like that because their performance has generally been pretty good, very good last week. And even at West Brom, you know, we're looking for positives in the game. "But the second half was a real clear show of what football's about, especially in this Championship. "If you find a hard moment and you don't compete and you go, then the result will look after itself. And it did. So, big, big learnings on that front. " And Lampard was disappointed his side failed to match the aggressive nature of Portsmouth. He added: "You know what you're getting when you come here and they've given teams tough games this season here. "You have to respect every team in the Championship, so that's certainly not an excuse. "But if they're going to press or be aggressive, then you have to match it and be aggressive. You know, that's in the second half, we didn't do that. " In their previous four matches under Lampard, Pompey had managed a draw with Cardiff, a loss to West Brom, as well as two wins over Millwall and Hull. But a battering at the hands of Portsmouth now means the Sky Blues are once again looking over their shoulders at the relegation zone having pulled away since Lampard replaced predecessor Mark Robins. talk SPORT commentator Nigel Adderley said: "They've conceded the most goals at this stage of a season since 2013/14 when they were down in League One, playing their home games at the Sixfield Stadium in Northampton. "Of course, they're in a very different place now under new owners and they have the high-profile manager that he appeared to be looking for. But days like today will show Frank Lampard that there is plenty of work to be done, although you suspect he would have known that. He's been trying to build the players up in the early days. " And co-commentator Houghton added: "He would have seen this drop-off in the second half and the other four games that he's been involved in. That would have been a little bit more concerning for him, I'm sure. But they'll work it out. " © 2024 talk SPORT Limited

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