Will Frank Lampard be part of Mauricio Pochettino’s coaching team? Interim Chelsea boss predicts his Blues future

• Blues onto third boss of 2022-23
• Permanent appointment on the way
• Club legend expected to depart

WHAT HAPPENED? The Blues have worked their way through three managers in the 2022-23 campaign, with Champions League winner Thomas Tuchel sacked in September. His successor, Graham Potter, lasted just 31 games at the helm, leading to club legend Lampard returning for a second spell in the dugout. He has suffered seven defeats through nine games and is not expecting to stick around at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of the season.

WHAT THEY SAID: Quizzed on his future plans, Lampard said: “A new manager will come in and bring his own coaches, for sure.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Chelsea’s latest Premier League outing saw them form a guard of honour for champions Manchester City, with Lampard saying when asked if that experience should serve as inspiration for some of those in west London: “I don’t think they should have to do a guard of honour to understand. Manchester City have not won three [Premier League titles] in a row through half intensity. They have had to work and work and work. The players have to understand that. They have to take personal responsibility and say: ‘I want to be [Erling] Haaland or [Kevin] De Bruyne, I have to put in the work they have.’ It is something they have to strive towards. It is in their hands. I can’t say that how long it will take. It is down to the players and the direction of the club. This Premier League is getting tougher.”

IN TWO PHOTOS:

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Getty/GOAL

WHAT NEXT? Chelsea are expected to spend again over the summer, despite splashing out £600 million ($747m) across the last two transfer windows, with former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss Pochettino set to take the reins on a permanent basis.