Lampard reveals he had doubts before taking Chelsea job

Frank Lampard reveals he had doubts before taking the Chelsea manager role but it was an opportunity he couldn’t resist.

Frank Lampard admits he had doubts about the Chelsea manager role but is relishing in the role after a year at the helm of affairs.

The 42-year-old was appointed at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2019 after spending one year as Championship side Derby County boss.

Lampard arrived as Chelsea boss as one of the club’s most decorated players in their history.

After a trophy-laden spell at Stamford Bridge, the Blues boss says he is aware of the expectations that lied ahead of him at the club.

Speaking to The Athletic, Lampard said: “It’s my club and the pull of it was always going to get me, no matter where I might have been. I didn’t know when that Chelsea opportunity might come around again, if ever.”

“On top of that, the idea of staying at Derby was a tough one. It was at a tough period and I think that’s become evident now. So the decision was clear-cut, but I did have doubts, if ‘doubts’ is the right word.”

“Managing Derby was doing it on a much smaller scale, tight-knit, expectation levels so-so and some games would go under the radar if you didn’t get a great result.”

“At Chelsea, I knew all of that would change instantly and I wanted to have a positive impact because I knew that my name and the ex-player thing wouldn’t last that long. So yeah, I had a lot of doubts.”

Lampard has led Chelsea to third on the Premier League standings and the Blues boss is pleased to be showing his worth rather than relying on his pedigree as a player.

Chelsea are unbeaten in the Champions League, only lost one game in the Premier League and are the highest scorers.

Maybe if Frank Lampard worked with Pep or was Spanish, he’d get the appreciation he deserves.. pic.twitter.com/yY5HPdQzvz
— Conn (@ConnCFC) November 26, 2020

“You can’t think about it. It doesn’t really bother me. As a player, it would; I really held onto being one of the elder statesmen of the team, one of the better performers and I loved that. It was a drive for me, but moving to Manchester City and New York City and then coming out of football for a year and going to Derby and experiencing the world changed my view a lot.”