Frank Lampard will continue to lead Chelsea for the remainder of current campaign despite another loss, this time to Brentford on Wednesday night; Lampard is the fourth coach to have taken charge of Blues during chaotic first campaign for owner Todd Boehly
Thursday 27 April 2023 18:20, UK
Frank Lampard will continue to be Chelsea’s caretaker manager until the end of the season, Sky Sports News understands.
The club put Lampard at the helm until the summer on April 6 and that will remain the case despite their continued poor form.
Chelsea were beaten at home 2-0 by West London rivals Brentford on Wednesday night - Lampard's fifth defeat from five matches.
The club's process for a new permanent manager remains ongoing - with Mauricio Pochettino the current frontrunner - and the intention is for him to takeover at the end of the season.
As Sky Sports News reported earlier this week, a decision and an announcement on the next boss is anticipated within the next week.
Chelsea were booed off by disgruntled home supporters at half-time against Brentford, while many fans choose to display their dissatisfaction further by departing Stamford Bridge early.
The numbers surrounding Chelsea's decline are alarming - they have not won in any competition or on any ground since beating Leicester at the King Power on March 11, when Graham Potter was still in charge.
Since then, Bruno Saltor and Lampard have between them overseen a winless run that now stands at eight games.
"Absolutely the fans are going to be worried," said Lampard after the latest defeat to Brentford. "If you're a Chelsea fan, you've been used to 20 years of success, you're used to it and you want it more. I've got no problem with fans booing."
Sky Sports News' senior reporter Melissa Reddy:
"It's quite damaging because the statistics are damning for Lampard. It's not just the fact that, since returning to Chelsea, he's lost all five games that he's been in charge of.
"When you combine with his spell at Everton, he's actually lost nine of the last ten Premier League games. In fact, since he took charge at Everton in 2022, no manager in the Premier League has lost more games than him.
"Lampard was an exceptional footballer and he comes from great footballing stock. That's what has fast-tracked his managerial career - there's no real substance behind it.
"It might do him a service to go away from the limelight and build that coaching career from the ground up so he has a philosophy that he can stick to and an idea of who he is as a manager.
"But because of who he is, the stature that he has, who his advocates are and sometimes the desperate nature of Premier League clubs, I actually wouldn't be surprised - despite the numbers we're talking about - if he does get a job in the Premier League again soon.
"In terms of Chelsea themselves, their lowest ever points total in the Premier League is 50. They're currently on 39 and when you look at the fixtures they've got coming up, it is not looking good for them.
"It's not just about the numbers, which are terrible - winless in eight, five defeats on the spin - you can see that there's a lack of direction, of clarity, of identity. That's why there's a crisis of confidence there, you can see that the players don't really know what they're supposed to be doing or what's needed from them.
"As a whole, people need to see what the direction is and it needs to be concrete. So the sooner they announce that Mauricio Pochettino is the man to be taking charge, the better for the club.
"Chelsea are in a miserable state and there's lots of work for the incoming manager to do."
Chelsea's season is over. If there was any doubt, it was rubber-stamped on Wednesday night, where Brentford produced a fine away display to secure back-to-back wins at Stamford Bridge.
The defeat was Lampard's fifth successive since returning to the club as interim manager. Earlier this month, he had seen his Chelsea side play well for 60 minutes against Real Madrid, but they ultimately left lamenting the same old shortcomings, prompting Didier Drogba to say: "I don't recognise my club anymore."
As Lampard looked up at the The Shed End on Wednesday night, and saw his banner - In Frank We Trust - Then. Now. Forever - the words of his former team-mate might well have entered his thoughts.
Lampard will continue to be Chelsea's caretaker manager until the end of the season, Sky Sports News understands.
But this poor run has led to question marks over whether Lampard was wise in jumping at this opportunity to return to management, and whether his reputation within the game as a manager is being further damaged with each passing defeat.
Sky Sports News' senior reporter Melissa Reddy:
"Having more outgoings than incomings [in the summer transfer window] is imperative because Chelsea have FFP to comply with, but it's not just that.
"Having such a bloated squad is detrimental in so many respects. It's so hard to manage, whether that be training sessions, having individual focus on players, the dressing room morale, player development takes a dive because if you're not getting games, you're stunting your growth.
"It's not a great environment and it's not conducive to healthy football or a healthy state of affairs with people turning up to the training ground.
"Pochettino, who has a history of being ruthless of trimming down squad and cutting players who don't fit in with his tactical ideas or the standards he sets. I don't think that will be a problem for him now.
"The indications are that Lukaku wants to remain at Inter. From Inter's side, it's not looking very plausible.
"Pochettino does have a history of reviving players that have been written off. Under Thomas Tuchel, Lukaku's strengths were never played to, they just never fitted, they did not get on.
"I think Pochettino could extract better from him, but so much depends on Lukaku himself - what's his attitude going to be, what's his conditioning going to be, how hungry is he to still be at the elite level and perform.
"And does he actually see himself at Stamford Bridge - does he want to be there?
"These are all the conversations that will be happening, but Chelsea have to remedy their goalscoring issues. Even if Lukaku comes back, there's still not enough goals in that team. When you're looking at a squad of about 40 players where you've collected some of the greatest talents in Europe, how are we saying that there aren't enough goals in the squad?"
May 2: Arsenal (A) - Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports
May 6: Bournemouth (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 13: Nottingham Forest (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 20: Manchester City (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 25: Man Utd (A) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports
May 28: Newcastle (H) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm
