Chelsea trying to avoid another interim manager, giving Lampard time — report

Frank Lampard is under pressure, there’s no doubt about that, but despite many reports (and certainly plenty of online chatter) about his impending doom, he doesn’t look to be on his way out just yet.

As strange as that may be given the ever-revolving door at the position, especially over the past 17 years at the Bridge, part of the reason for the club’s stance is that our reportedly preferred replacements are not available for a mid-season appointment. According to the Independent, Chelsea would like to avoid having to deal with an interim manager (even though we’ve done rather well with interim managers, loved or hated, it must be said).

Julian Nagelsmann is said to be the “preferred” option should we pull the plug on Lampard, but we’re apparently still considering the “long-term view” and want to give Lampard a “fair chance” within that context. (Tuchel is secondary and Allegri is not on the list.)

Lampard himself is targeting at least the next three games to somehow engineer a turnaround — though his stated plan of just working harder is pretty much the same as before, which isn’t necessarily inspiring. The report adds that the Board will “have to act if these results continue”.

Good luck to us all.