‘I lost communication with important people above me.’
Frank Lampard has revealed that he ‘lost communication with important people’ during his final weeks as Chelsea manager.
The Englishman, who was appointed Blues boss in July 2019, guided the London outfit into the top four and to the FA Cup final in his first year in charge.
However, after a run of four defeats in eight league matches in his second season in the hot-seat, he was sacked by Chelsea in January 2021 and replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
Lampard believes he was no longer being supported
Reflecting on what went wrong for him at Chelsea, Lampard believes that he was no longer being supported as he did not speak regularly to those ‘above him’.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, he said: “At the end of my time at Chelsea, I lost communication with important people above me that I should have tried to keep more.
“That was one of my reflections on it, because then that void becomes an issue. It certainly wasn’t just my fault, because I think that should be a two-way responsibility because you need to feel support.
“Like you’re saying, how do you get that long-term vision? Well, you’d better be supported back when it is a bit tough because that’s the reality of football.”
With Chelsea going from title contention in early December to dropping into mid-table the following month, Lampard was understandably desperate to turn things around quickly.
However, the 44-year-old has since admitted that he tried to solve too many problems at once as the pressure on him increased – adding that he didn’t trust himself enough during that period.
“One of the biggest regrets I have is the last period at Chelsea where we were second in the league and came into a short run of defeats which saw me lose my job in the space of a month,” he added.
“From second in the table to ninth, and, I think, four defeats in the league and you’re gone.
“But in that period I was striving to solve 100 problems, and as I came away I went: ‘Don’t get in that position again, Frank’.
“You’ve got to trust in yourself in those moments.”
One for anybody who leads a team.
One for anybody who has had a setback.
One for football fans.
One for anybody interested in building a culture.
Welcome Frank Lampard. Round 2.
Full ep: https://t.co/HcTryfGNf8#FrankLampard #Everton #chelsea #highperformance pic.twitter.com/CiQXuWaLH1
— Jake Humphrey (@mrjakehumphrey) August 8, 2022
Former Chelsea midfielder admits his mood changed in final weeks
Lampard, who played for the Blues between 2001 and 2014 – winning three Premier League titles and the Champions League – insisted that while he enjoyed his time as Chelsea boss, his mood changed in the weeks before he was dismissed.
When asked if he was still happy in his job at the end, Lampard said: “No, I wasn’t enjoying it in the last few weeks. And that happened really quickly. I really enjoyed my time working as a whole with reflection.”
The former England international was named Everton manager in January 2022 and guided the club to Premier League safety last season.
