‘Another club may have changed managers two or three times’: Frank Lampard addresses a thinly veiled dig at Chelsea’s hire and escape culture as he praises Arsenal for sticking to Mikel Arteta
- Chelsea have had three different managers so far this season
- The club infamously changed managers regularly when Lampard was a player
- The former midfielder was himself fired by the club after an earlier period
Frank Lampard has directed a thinly veiled dig at Chelsea’s relentless hiring and firing culture – citing Mikel Arteta’s success at Arsenal as a reason to give a coach time.
The Blues are twelfth in the Premier League after a season to forget that saw them sack both Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter before appointing Lampard on an interim basis.
But Lampard has lost all five of his games since returning to the club and they face Arsenal, who are vying for the league title after missing out on Champions League football this year.
However, things have not been all plain sailing for North London’s Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard survived calls to sack him but has led the Gunners’ title fight this season.
Lampard, who was himself suspended by Chelsea in 2021, compared their situation to that of the Gunners and praised their London rivals for staying with Arteta when other clubs might not have.
Frank Lampard has focused a thinly veiled dig at Chelsea’s hiring and firing management culture
The Blues have lost five games in a row under Lampard and are twelfth in the Premier League
Lampard compared the club’s situation to that of Arsenal under Mikel Arteta, who the club has improved over time
“It’s interesting to compare,” said Lampard. “We all had a glimpse into Arsenal through the Amazon series.
“There’s a long process to get where you want and I remember playing in Mikel’s early teams and sometimes it was a five, sometimes a four. Now you see that they have a clear identity.
“If we just talk about this season, you have to go back to the difficult periods.
“I have seen times where the manager has been questioned and that process can take two or three years. Another club may have changed managers two or three times.’
The Blues manager was reluctant to talk about confidence, but admitted his team is struggling
Owner Todd Boehly has already spent over £500m in revenue since taking over the club last year and is expected to reinvest in the summer.
However, the roster will be shortened and several players will leave. In the meantime, however, the players have to catch up with Lampard who admits confidence has been shot.
“They have low confidence and low performance,” said Lampard.
“I’ve been here in periods when confidence was low. In history we managed to get it back through hard work, the level of the squad and we changed managers often.
“It’s different now in terms of the modern player and what the expectations are. You shouldn’t be talking about team confidence, but it’s clearly a problem at the moment.”