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Lampard determined to succeed at Chelsea after swerving ‘easier job’ of punditry

Under pressure Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has revealed that he’s determined to succeed at Stamford Bridge and is up to the challenge, after avoiding taking the ‘easier job’ of football punditry.

The 42-year-old brought an end to his highly successful playing career back in 2016 after a brief spell in the MLS with New York City, before spending a couple of years working as a pundit.

However, the former England international was not out of the game for long as he delved into management for the first time with Championship side Derby County in 2018, leading the Rams to the play-off final in his solitary season at the helm.

The former midfielder was quickly snapped up former club Chelsea following the sacking of Maurizio Sarri at the end of the 2018/19 season, with Lampard going on to guide the Blues to a fourth-placed finish despite having been hit with a transfer ban and the loss of star forward, Eden Hazard.

After an expensive summer of recruitment, expectations were inevitably raised for the new campaign, yet thus far it’s not quite gone to plan, with the Blues currently ninth in the table and seven points behind leaders Liverpool after a run of just one win in their last six matches.

That poor run of form has put the Blues boss under intense scrutiny, yet Lampard has insisted he is relishing the challenge and revealed he’d much rather be in the dugout than sat in the luxury of a television studio as a pundit.

“I’m very confident in what I do, whether people want to think that I’ve been a manager for two and a half years,” Lampard said at his pre-match press conference. “I’ve been playing football since I could walk, I’ve been playing professionally for 20-odd years and tried to take as much in in those days as I do now.

“I don’t like losing games. On Monday [after the Man City game] I’m disappointed because we lost a game to a team that were better than us on the day. On Tuesday I wake up and I’m determined to get better. That’s the only way I see it.

“If I didn’t want that challenge I could have sat on the telly and done an easier job. I could have been a pundit commenting on what everyone does with hindsight and whenever I want. And I don’t want to do that.

“In terms of the game, I don’t want to get involved in what happens if … all I care about is preparing the team for Morecambe.”

Lampard tells his struggling Chelsea side the ‘only’ way to overcome lack of confidence

See also – Five of the biggest 3rd round upsets in FA Cup History

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