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Chelsea appoint Lampard as caretaker boss until end of season

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Chelsea have appointed club legend and former coach Frank Lampard as caretaker manager until the end of the season.

Lampard scored the most goals for Chelsea, and he was the team’s manager from July 2019 to January 2021, when Thomas Tuchel took over.

The 44-year-old moved back to Stamford Bridge without warning after Tuchel’s replacement, Graham Potter, was fired on Sunday. At the time, the club was in the bottom half of the Premier League.

“We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge,” Chelsea co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali 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.”

Lampard hasn’t had a job since January, when Everton, which was in danger of going down, fired him after less than a year in charge.

Lampard said he didn’t have to swallow his pride to go back to Chelsea, even though he was kicked out so badly when Roman Abramovich was the owner.

After playing for Chelsea for 13 years and winning the Premier League and the Champions League, the Blues legend couldn’t turn down the chance to help a team that was so close to his heart.

“It’s a pretty easy decision for me. This is my club. I have a lot of emotions and feelings,” Lampard told a press conference minutes after his appointment was announced.

“It was a surprise in terms of you never know what decision the club will make. There’s been a lot of change in the Premier League this season.

“It’s a big challenge, but aren’t they all? I have complete sympathy for all managers that lose jobs. I’m ready to put my work into this challenge and take it day by day.”