Derby County boss Wayne Rooney on Frank Lampard's sacking by Chelsea: 'I wasn't surprised, if I'm being honest. That's obviously the way Chelsea operate their business. I think he deserved more time, he did a great job last year with Chelsea.'
Thursday 28 January 2021 17:21, UK
Derby boss Wayne Rooney says Frank Lampard's sacking by Chelsea came as no surprise, but feels his former England team-mate deserved more time.
Lampard, who had one year of managerial experience with Derby County before taking on the role, was told his time was up as Chelsea head coach on Monday morning before being swiftly replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
Chelsea managed to secure Champions League qualification in Lampard's first campaign in charge, while under a FIFA-imposed transfer ban, but results began to slip this season and the hierarchy's patience wore thin.
Rooney, now following the same path into management, is sympathetic to his former team-mate and says Lampard's project was showing real signs of progression but unsuitable for Chelsea's "demanding" business model.
"I wasn't surprised, if I'm being honest," said Rooney.
"That's obviously the way Chelsea operate their business, and it wasn't a huge surprise to see Frank get sacked. I think he deserved more time, he did a great job last year with Chelsea.
"He's brought players in, which will take time to build his team and to challenge for titles. I don't think they were too far away points-wise from being able to challenge for titles.
"It's obviously disappointing for Frank and his staff, but you're asking me if I was surprised and the answer is no."
Chelsea backed Lampard heavily in the transfer market over the summer, bringing in Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, Edouard Mendy and Thiago Silva.
Lamaprd's failure to get the best out of Germany internationals Havertz and Werner was certainly a contributing factor to his early demise at Chelsea. It also made Tuchel's appointment all the more attractive.
But Rooney felt Lampard did not have enough time to mould these new players - some of which were not his targets - into his own vision for this Chelsea team.
"I'm sure Frank would have known that he wasn't going to get time, going in at Chelsea," Rooney added.
"I think they demand trophies, which is good on one sense, it keeps the managers on their toes, and they have to produce, they have to win trophies.
"But if you are going to give someone a project to bring players in from quite a few countries then at least give them the season to see where they're at."
