Frank Lampard has revealed that he ‘lost communication with important people’ during his final weeks as Chelsea manager.
Lampard took over at Stamford Bridge in July 2019 and guided the Blues into the top four and to the FA Cup final in his first year in charge. His second season started promisingly as well, but after a run of four defeats in eight league matches, he was relived of his duties in January 2021.
Reflecting on what went wrong for him at Chelsea, Lampard told the High Performance podcast that he did not speak regularly to those ‘above him’, which led to him feeling that he was no longer being supported.
Frank Lampard was sacked by Chelsea in January 2021 after his side hit a poor run of form
He has claimed that he lost communication with those above him at the club in his final weeks
‘At the end of my time at Chelsea, I lost communication with important people above me that I should have tried to keep more,’ he said.
‘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.’
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The now-Everton boss pointed out that Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have both endured tricky periods at Liverpool and Manchester City respectively, but they have been trusted to turn things around, whereas he did not get that luxury at Chelsea.
‘Let’s not forget those early stages of Liverpool there were some tough moments. Jurgen Klopp’s first year, or Pep Guardiola’s… nothing’s perfect. They work through these (moments), and they have trust.
Lampard said Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have been trusted to come through tough moments, but he wasn’t
‘Sometimes the trust comes from their previous work. I suppose at Chelsea I didn’t have a body of work to go: “I’ve done this”, so I suppose that didn’t work for me in that sense,’ he added.
Things unravelled quickly for Lampard at Chelsea as his side went from title contention in early December to dropping into mid-table the following month.
The 44-year-old admitted that he tried to solve too many problems at once as the pressure cranked up, and did not trust himself enough during these key moments.
‘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. 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,’ he said.
Lampard admitted he tried to fix too many things at once and did not enjoy the end of his reign
Lampard managed 18 months in the dugout of the club that he played for between 2001 and 2014 – a period which saw him win three Premier League titles and the Champions League.
He insisted that he enjoyed his overall time in charge, but conceded that his mood changed in the weeks before he was sacked.
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 has since taken the reins at Everton, and steered them to Premier League safety last season.