skyblueelephant76
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Telegraph interview with Mason-Clark. He's currently getting his paperwork sorted so he can represent Jamaica.
How Frank Lampard turned Ephron Mason-Clark into the Championship’s best winger
Mike McGrath
24 October 2025 9:02am BST
There is no better example of how players have flourished in the past 11 months at Coventry City than Ephron Mason-Clark. In Frank Lampard’s first game in charge, he was put back in the team in his most natural position, and the following month was named the best player in the Championship for December.
Mason-Clark is now a major part of the team protecting the only unbeaten start to the campaign in the Football League and the 26-year-old also has international ambitions with Jamaica, for whom he qualifies through his parents.
It sounds like a simple case of Lampard sprinkling his gold dust on a squad like he did with Derby County when they reached the play-off final in 2019. Yet the reality of the Coventry revolution is more complex.
For a start, Mason-Clark has benefited from the complete change in culture at the training base in Ryton. And it is also down to a partnership behind the scenes, with assistant Joe Edwards a vital part of the operation having reunited with Lampard after his spell as Millwall manager. Ephron is talking to Telegraph Sport on a warm-down day, the vital period for recovery at the club, when players up and down the country would welcome a day off.
“People don’t always want to go in on Sunday, but everybody knows how important those small percentages are throughout the whole season,” he says. “We saw this at the last stages last season, coming in on certain days to just make sure we’ve done the right stuff, to make sure that we were prepared for our next test.”
Mason-Clark was part of the team that made a late run to the play-offs last season before defeat to eventual winners Sunderland. His progress illustrates the impact that Lampard and Edwards had in a short space of time after their appointment last November.
Before their arrival, Mason-Clark was played on the right wing or through the middle but he was immediately put back on the left flank when the new coaching team came in, succeeding Mark Robins. Edwards had attempted to sign Mason-Clark, a left-winger while at Millwall, so he knew where he operated best.
There was also an overall shift in how he prepared for matches and in analysing his game.
Mason-Clark said: “They just give me the confidence to look at the top players. The other day, I was speaking to Joe about players like Raphinha and [Mohamed] Salah and how important they are in their teams and what they do to offer their abilities for their team.
“I try to kind of add that to my game as well; they give me the confidence to go out and study and make sure that I work on those things. It’s very intricate, the way training’s kind of set up. You would have other teams set up how our opponent would play and how our gaffer works.
“Anything that we’ve got wrong in the game, we’re able to rectify within a short space of time. And it’s been quite positive so far, but I think it’s been good that the coaches, every single game, how we prepare for it is completely different to the previous one, which makes everybody lock in.”
Another factor in Coventry’s success, in Mason-Clark’s eyes, is the level of competition in training. They also managed to keep the core of their key players last season, bolstering the spine of the team with signings such as Carl Rushworth on loan from Brighton.
“You might go out for dinner and stuff, but the fact that we’re in every other day, you build that bond regardless, whether we went out and did go-karting or something like that,” Mason-Clark says. “We’re always together and I think that grew the bond that we have at the moment. First and foremost, on the pitch, everybody’s held accountable for how they are in the team.”
The “P” word is not banned amongst the Coventry squad but promotion is now a realistic goal after the start they have enjoyed to the campaign. For Mason-Clark it would be a remarkable rise over the past 10 years, starting with his time at Barnet in League Two and going into non-league football with them, a spell that included a loan at Metropolitan Police.
How Frank Lampard turned Ephron Mason-Clark into the Championship’s best winger
Mike McGrath
24 October 2025 9:02am BST
There is no better example of how players have flourished in the past 11 months at Coventry City than Ephron Mason-Clark. In Frank Lampard’s first game in charge, he was put back in the team in his most natural position, and the following month was named the best player in the Championship for December.
Mason-Clark is now a major part of the team protecting the only unbeaten start to the campaign in the Football League and the 26-year-old also has international ambitions with Jamaica, for whom he qualifies through his parents.
It sounds like a simple case of Lampard sprinkling his gold dust on a squad like he did with Derby County when they reached the play-off final in 2019. Yet the reality of the Coventry revolution is more complex.
For a start, Mason-Clark has benefited from the complete change in culture at the training base in Ryton. And it is also down to a partnership behind the scenes, with assistant Joe Edwards a vital part of the operation having reunited with Lampard after his spell as Millwall manager. Ephron is talking to Telegraph Sport on a warm-down day, the vital period for recovery at the club, when players up and down the country would welcome a day off.
“People don’t always want to go in on Sunday, but everybody knows how important those small percentages are throughout the whole season,” he says. “We saw this at the last stages last season, coming in on certain days to just make sure we’ve done the right stuff, to make sure that we were prepared for our next test.”
Mason-Clark was part of the team that made a late run to the play-offs last season before defeat to eventual winners Sunderland. His progress illustrates the impact that Lampard and Edwards had in a short space of time after their appointment last November.
Before their arrival, Mason-Clark was played on the right wing or through the middle but he was immediately put back on the left flank when the new coaching team came in, succeeding Mark Robins. Edwards had attempted to sign Mason-Clark, a left-winger while at Millwall, so he knew where he operated best.
There was also an overall shift in how he prepared for matches and in analysing his game.
Mason-Clark said: “They just give me the confidence to look at the top players. The other day, I was speaking to Joe about players like Raphinha and [Mohamed] Salah and how important they are in their teams and what they do to offer their abilities for their team.
“I try to kind of add that to my game as well; they give me the confidence to go out and study and make sure that I work on those things. It’s very intricate, the way training’s kind of set up. You would have other teams set up how our opponent would play and how our gaffer works.
“Anything that we’ve got wrong in the game, we’re able to rectify within a short space of time. And it’s been quite positive so far, but I think it’s been good that the coaches, every single game, how we prepare for it is completely different to the previous one, which makes everybody lock in.”
Another factor in Coventry’s success, in Mason-Clark’s eyes, is the level of competition in training. They also managed to keep the core of their key players last season, bolstering the spine of the team with signings such as Carl Rushworth on loan from Brighton.
“You might go out for dinner and stuff, but the fact that we’re in every other day, you build that bond regardless, whether we went out and did go-karting or something like that,” Mason-Clark says. “We’re always together and I think that grew the bond that we have at the moment. First and foremost, on the pitch, everybody’s held accountable for how they are in the team.”
The “P” word is not banned amongst the Coventry squad but promotion is now a realistic goal after the start they have enjoyed to the campaign. For Mason-Clark it would be a remarkable rise over the past 10 years, starting with his time at Barnet in League Two and going into non-league football with them, a spell that included a loan at Metropolitan Police.
