The Sky Blues rode their luck at Bramall Lane and the Blades took a deserved lead early in the second half, having dominated the first 45 minutes, through Harrison Burrows’ deflected shot.

But Lampard’s side responded four minutes after going behind, with Haji Wright firing his 14th league goal of the season before Jack Rudoni headed them in front five minutes later.

Coventry, who held a 10-point lead at the top in November, were knocked off top spot by Middlesbrough earlier this month, but have regained momentum with three straight wins in their bid for a top-flight return for the first time in 25 years.

Lampard said: “We’re happy because there’s lots of ways to win a game. We’ve won some games in a beautiful fashion this season and when you win games like tonight, they feel just as good.

“But we all go back tonight and we will sleep well, then we get up and go again tomorrow, because this league is such a challenge.

“The minute you think you might have cracked it, you haven’t. Stoke (at home on Saturday) will come around quickly.”

Coventry have put back-to-back defeats at the end of last month behind them and Lampard added: “It was important that we kept calm and we kept working.

“And the boys, to be fair, have done that and now we’ve got pretty much fully-fit squad.

“This league will kick you if you get relaxed, but these last three games have obviously been very good for us.”

The Blades remain nine points adrift of the play-off places and boss Chris Wilder said he was delighted with “90 per cent” of his side’s display and that five minutes of “naivety” cost them two goals.

He said: “When you play as well as we have played tonight, you have got to win the game and we haven’t.

“And I suppose, from Frank and Coventry’s point of view – they said, ‘we’ve not been great, but we’ve ended up winning the game’. 

“I wish them all well and all the best. I think they’ll obviously go on now to play in the Premier League next year and nights like tonight cement that.”

Wilder felt two penalty decisions went against his side, with Femi Seriki tumbling under Ephron Mason-Clark’s first-half challenge and substitute Tyrese Campbell booked for diving after going down late in the game following Bobby Thomas’ tackle.

“I thought all three of the officials were not great tonight,” Wilder added. “You can’t afford those decisions to go against, whether the opposition ride their luck a little bit on those decisions and evens itself out, whatever.

“But still, it doesn’t take away the fact that, for me, there’s something in both of them.”