The Sky Blues striker, 25, played under Lampard at Everton back in 2022 before sealing a move to the West Midlands the following season.

Simms played 12 times for the Toffees in the top-flight before going on to become a Sky Blues regular over the last three campaigns, celebrating his 150th appearance for the club with a goal in the recent 4-1 thumping of Newcastle at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

The former Sunderland loanee is loving life back under Lampard and hopes unity across the city can help them cap a successful Premier League return.

“It’s been amazing – it’s been a long time coming for the fans,” said Simms, speaking at a Coventry Building Society initiative where players were taken back to a ‘time vault’ from 2001 - the last time the club were in the top-flight.

“Now that we’re here, we’re all excited for the challenge and looking forward to testing ourselves against the best.

“We’re always trying to improve and get better, so we’re enjoying it.

“It was a great experience for me [playing at Everton under Frank] - you can always learn and improve, and coming to Coventry now we’re back to the Premier League was nice.

“I knew a little bit about the league already, the demands and what’s required to be competitive at that level, so it was a great challenge for me to prove myself at this level again.

“We know how ruthless the league is – it’s a lot higher level than last year.

“I’ve heard how big of a fanbase and club Coventry us – we’ve been waiting to get back into the Premier League.

“It’s been 20 odd years so we’re happy that us as players have managed to get the club back, and we just want to try and stay there.

“We know it’s difficult but we believe in ourselves – we’ve got a good coaching group, good fans and if we all stick together, I’m sure we can stay in the league.”

Simms hammered home Coventry’s third goal against the Magpies in a memorable Monday night win on home soil earlier this month.

Celebrating his 150th appearance for the club with a special customised shirt, Simms followed up strikes from Jack Rudoni and Sidiki Cherif before Stephen Mfuni put the icing on the cake to fire Coventry to back-to-back triumphs.

Setbacks against Tottenham and Fulham followed but Lampard’s players go into this weekend’s crunch clash against bottom of the table Sunderland just a single point from safety.

Speaking after his milestone appearance and goal, Simms said: “It was a great feeling for me.

“Watching from the bench, everyone was putting in a shift, so I knew I needed to keep my energy up and make an impact.

“It was a great advantage and I stayed alive, which is what a like to be as a striker.

“I knew before the game if I got on it was 150, so to top it off with a goal and they way we won, there is no better feeling.”