Frank Lampard releases eight Coventry stars after gut-wrenching Championship play-off defeat to Sunderland
COVENTRY have released eight players after falling short of promotion to the Premier League.
Frank Lampard, who landed the job in November, led the Sky Blues on an incredible surge up the table to finish fifth.
But they remain in the Championship after conceding a 122nd minute winner to Sunderland in the play-off semi-final.
Coventry have announced their release list following the end of the season with Jamie Paterson the biggest name departing.
The 33-year-old was at the club for three months and managed eight appearances.
But he has not been offered a new contract and will join League One side Plymouth Argyle.
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Academy graduates Jack Burroughs, Ryan Howley and Cian Tyler have also been shown the exit door.
Burroughs, 24, joined Coventry at the age of seven and went on to make 21 senior appearances.
But he has spent recent seasons out on loan at Lincoln, Kilmarnock and Ross County.
Howley, 21, played eight times in total and was with Scottish Championship side Ayr United on loan last season.
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Tyler, 23, is another who has been at Coventry since he was a schoolboy, but he never managed a first-team game.
Under-21 quartet Aston Ellard, Daniel Rachel, Kain Ryan and Jayden Smith have also left the club.
Coventry have decided to trigger one-year extension options in the contracts of midfielder Jamie Allen and goalkeeper Luke Bell.
Allen, 30, has been in the squad for the last six seasons and he has featured 151 times for the club.
Bell, 21, joined from Wolves three years ago and is their youth-team keeper.
