Lampard reveals he feared Chelsea sack after emphatic Arsenal defeat | OneFootball

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·2 December 2021

Lampard reveals he feared Chelsea sack after emphatic Arsenal defeat

Article image:Lampard reveals he feared Chelsea sack after emphatic Arsenal defeat

Frank Lampard has revealed when he knew he was in trouble as Chelsea manager.

The Blues legend was fired in January 2021 and replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who went on to win the Champions League last season.


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And Lampard says he started to feel concerned after losing 3-1 to Arsenal on Boxing Day.

"It was a really good feeling. Then come the end of December we lose some games and that can change pretty quick," Lampard said on Gary Neville's The Overlap.

"We went to Arsenal on Boxing Day and lost and played poorly. There hadn't been that many games in my time at Chelsea where you could say we were off it today. Miles off it.

"When we went to Arsenal and got beaten pretty well, I knew that good feeling from before had gone. I could see it in the performance. Then we had (Manchester) City the next game.

"At Chelsea, it is understandable, I'm not crying my eyes out, but you lose two games on the bounce like that people start talking about it straight away. I could sense the feeling of that.

"I think we lost three games in seven and at the end of January I left."

Lampard added: "I could feel it. I was sort of being told some things that it might happen. Rumours.

"Chelsea is such a big club and it has had huge success with it - it changes managers so it doesn't take long for people to jump onto that ship. It would have been stupid of me to just listen to that, but I'm not silly. You listen to those things and just keep working.

"The next morning (after losing to Luton Town) I got a message from Bruce Buck the chairman of the club saying 'Can you move training and come and meet us in the boardroom?'

"Once the club makes that decision there is no nice way. I knew straight away.

"There is no nice way to do it. There may be different ways and etiquette to doing it, but at the end of the day the result is the same.

"When I met Bruce and Marina it was very cordial. I knew what was coming. Not at the time, but you are thankful for the period, you understand what it is. They are going to move on and there is nothing you can do there.

"When you take the job you understand that call may come. At Chelsea, it probably will come unless you win back-to-back titles all the time and that was never going to happen."

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