CHELSEA CONFIRMS FRANK LAMPARD’S RETURN AS INTERIM MANAGER
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Chelsea have confirmed Frank Lampard’s shock return as manager for the remainder of the season.
The Stamford Bridge legend – who was sacked by the club in January 2021 after a season-and-a-half in charge – will be in charge for Saturday’s trip to Wolves.
Lampard, 44, watched Tuesday night’s goalless draw with Liverpool, which did little to enhance the credentials of Bruno Saltor as interim boss.
Chelsea confirmed Lampard’s appointment after a breakthrough in negotiations on Wednesday following a fast-moving series of events after Graham Potter was dismissed on Sunday night.
Lampard will give the team ‘a clear and stable plan’ until they appoint a full-time boss in the summer, according to co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
“We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge,’ they said in a statement. ‘Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club. As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season.
“We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line.
“We have an important game against Wolves on Saturday and then we will turn our attention to our Champions League quarter-final in Madrid next week. We are all going to give Frank our full backing as we aim to get the best possible outcome from all our remaining games.”
Speaking for the first time since his return was confirmed, Lampard said it was “‘an easy decision’ to come back and believes his knowledge of the club will help stabilise the team until the end of the season.
“[It was an] Easy decision for me, this is my club. I’m also a very practicial person.
“I’ve been on a different path since I left Chelsea but to come back when I’ve been asked and come back with a belief I can help until the end of the season.
“Delighted to get the opportunity and I’m thankful. I’ve a good understanding of the squad, the training ground, the stadium and the fans and I’ll do my best.’
He said his main objectives were to help balance the squad and give everyone ‘a clean slate’.
“I was at the game on Tuesday night I know there’s a lot of talent in this squad. I’m excited to work with them and help them.
“Modern day football has big squads and Chelsea has been the top end of that. Part of the job is to manage the situation and make every player feel included. Everyone can have a clean slate and show in training what they can do with a competitive nature. We can all push each other and I can manage that.
“Against Liverpool we created a lot of great chances, I’ll be working with them on the training ground [to help with goalscoring] it was part of my game and I know the players will have that.”
Lampard has been out of work since Everton sacked him in January after just 12 months in charge but he now finds himself back in familiar surroundings trying to salvage Chelsea’s season.
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