Chelsea Football Club have announced the appointment of Frank Lampard as caretaker head coach until the end of the season, following the dismissal of Graham Potter on Sunday. Lampard returned to Chelsea to take charge of training on Thursday ahead of the team’s upcoming Premier League game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Lampard, who previously managed Chelsea until 2021, has been out of work since leaving Everton in January. He led Chelsea to a fourth-place finish in the Premier League and the FA Cup final in his first season as manager, but was sacked the following season and replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
“We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge,” said co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali 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 is Chelsea’s all-time leading goal scorer with 211 goals. During his playing career at Stamford Bridge, he won the Premier League three times, the Champions League and Europa League once each, the FA Cup four times, and the League Cup twice.
“We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line,” Boehly and Eghbali continued. “We have an important game against Wolves on Saturday and then we will turn our attention to our Champions League quarter-final in Madrid next week. We are all going to give Frank our full backing as we aim to get the best possible outcome from all our remaining games.”
Lampard’s appointment as caretaker head coach brings stability to Chelsea as they continue their search for a long-term replacement for Potter. Negotiations are said to be ongoing with a number of candidates. With Lampard’s experience and success at the club, Chelsea fans will no doubt be eager to see what he can achieve in his second stint as manager.
