Frank Lampard (45-England) recalled his time as Chelsea’s fireman last season. He said that when he returned to the team, the Chelsea players’ mentality was completely broken.
“I could see in training that we weren’t good enough,” Lampard told The Diary of a CEO podcast on Wednesday. We weren’t good enough to get a result at home against Brentford, let alone against Real Madrid,” Lampard said.
Last season, Chelsea made a last-minute appointment of Lampard at the end of the season after Graham Potter (48, England) was sacked for poor performance. He returned to the Chelsea dugout in the winter of 2021 after two years as interim firebrand. Having been disgraced at Everton, Lampard readily accepted the offer to save his reputation and his beloved club in crisis.
However, Lampard was unable to turn things around at Chelsea. He lost his first six games in charge, then went on to win just once in 11 games. Under Lampard, Chelsea scored just 0.69 goals per game and conceded 1.61 goals per game. With the offensive and defensive balance out of whack, Chelsea eventually finished a dismal 12th in the league.
Lampard, who parted ways with Chelsea at the end of the season, blamed the players’ mental game for their poor performance: “When I came back to the team, there was no mentality, no unity. To be the best, you have to train like the best,” he said, adding, “We have to play for something. We didn’t play much, and that’s because we weren’t motivated,” he said, criticizing the players.
“When I came to the team, I quickly realized that some players had a bad season and were thinking about their future. If I were a player who hadn’t played for seven months and was thinking about leaving in four weeks, it would be hard to get motivated. 안전놀이터추천 I don’t have a magic wand to motivate them,” he sighs.
Meanwhile, some have suggested that owner Todd Boley’s (49-USA) excessive signings have led to an imbalance in the Chelsea squad. Lampard refutes this. “Their intentions are good. I have a good relationship with Chelsea,” he said. “They want the best for the club. They had really good intentions, they wanted to do well, so they spent the money,” he defended.
Lampard was succeeded at Chelsea by Mauricio Pochettino (51-Argentina). Pochettino’s Chelsea have been busy organizing their squad this summer. Several players have left the club, including Kai Havertz (24-Arsenal), Mateo Kovacic (29-Manchester City), and N’Golo Kante (32-Al-Ittihad).