Chelsea icon Frank Lampard risks losing job he wants to Ruud van Nistelrooy

Ruud van Nistelrooy is being touted as a potential candidate to challenge Frank Lampard for the vacant managerial role at Coventry City, following the Dutchman's interim stint at Manchester United.

Chelsea hero Lampard is the strong favourite to land the role having submitted an application for the job. Van Nistelrooy parted ways with United on Monday after new head coach Ruben Amorim decided not to retain him as an assistant, despite his desire to continue as one.

He had initially been brought in by sacked manager Erik ten Hag as an assistant coach this summer. During his brief tenure as interim boss Van Nistelrooy secured three wins and one draw from four matches.

Prior to this, the 48-year-old's only other senior management experience was at PSV Eindhoven, where he clinched the Dutch cup and Johan Cruyff Shield within 51 games during the 2022/23 season.

Coventry are currently seeking a new first-team manager after parting ways with long-serving boss and ex-United star Mark Robins, a move that has been met with widespread disapproval from fans.

Lampard remains the bookies' favourite to be his successor at 1/2, while interim England manager Lee Carsley is second favourite at 11/4. Van Nistelrooy is considered the third-most likely to take over at Coventry, with odds of 10/1. United legend Nicky Butt also features in Sky Bet's top 10, with odds of 22/1.

Van Nistelrooy attains a 70 per cent win ratio across his 55 senior management games. Lampard has managed to win just 41 per cent of his 196 matches as a manager.

Confirming Lampard's interest in the job, Coventry owner Doug King said: "We've received a huge amount of CVs from high quality people, of which Frank is one.

"We've done nothing on that process. Clearly we're in the international break. We'll be assessing everything. We'll work out who's going to make the shortlist and we'll go from there."