Seven years at Coventry a 'big achievement' - Allen

Jamie Allen will look back on his seven-year Coventry City stint as a "big achievement" when he bids farewell to the Premier League-bound Sky Blues this summer.

Allen has been released by the club after contributing to two promotions during his time at the CBS Arena.

Arriving from Burton Albion in 2019, Allen went on to make 200 appearances for City, but the 31-year-old's opportunities this past season were restricted due to a highly competitive and in-form midfield department.

While his immediate future remains uncertain, Allen is grateful for the friendships he built and said it had been "a hell of a journey".

He told BBC CWR. "I have enjoyed every second of it. It is a sad moment, in a way, because I am leaving people behind who I class as really close mates and family.

"As a footballer, you never think you are going to be at a club for as long as I did. How football is, it is always changing so for me to stay at Coventry for seven years is a big achievement for me.

"When I first joined, I didn't expect to be here for this long, or have the relationships I have with the people that I have there, and with the fans. I can't thank them enough for everything they've done for me over the past seven years."

Allen was signed by manager Mark Robins and continued to feature under the current Stoke City boss until his sacking by the Sky Blues in November 2024.

"I am a quiet character, I would not talk to him [Robins] every day but our relationship was good," Allen recalled.

"I always went into training with a smile on my face. Mark, with the players he signed, took steps in the right direction and played a massive part in where the club are today."

Robins was succeeded by Frank Lampard, who in his first full campaign in charge guided City back to the Premier League after 25 years as second-tier champions.

It was the first managerial change of Allen's career and required a period of adjustment - not least of all because of Lampard's footballing reputation.

"It was a massive shock, I didn't expect it at all," he admitted. "In my career, I had never had that experience where a manager has been sacked, so it was a strange, weird feeling.

"It was a big change, but when Frank Lampard came in it was a breath of fresh air. He came in, he didn't demand anything but he tweaked a few things and he has done unbelievable since he came in.

"I didn't expect, in my career, to be managed by Frank Lampard, one of the all-time great Premier League midfielders. Meeting him for the first time you get a bit nervous, but you soon realise what a good, down-to-earth person he is."