Chelsea has announced the sack of head coach Frank Lampard less than 24 hours after the club’s FA Cup victory over Luton Town with former Borussia Dortmund and PSG boss, Thomas Tuchel lined up to replace him.
Chelsea beat Luton Town 3-1 in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday but the result was not enough to keep Lampard in his job.
In a statement on Monday afternoon, the club via its website stated;
This has been a very difficult decision, and not one that the owner and the Board have taken lightly.
We are grateful to Frank for what he has achieved in his time as Head Coach of the Club. However, recent results and performances have not met the Club’s expectations, leaving the Club mid-table without any clear path to sustained improvement.
There can never be a good time to part ways with a club legend such as Frank, but after lengthy deliberation and consideration it was decided a change is needed now to give the Club time to improve performances and results this season.
On his part, the club owner Roman Abramovich said;
This was a very difficult decision for the Club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him’.
He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers.
On behalf of everyone at the Club, the Board and personally, I would like to thank Frank for his work as Head Coach and wish him every success in the future. He is an important icon of this great club and his status here remains undiminished. He will always be warmly welcomed back at Stamford Bridge.
The statement added that the club will be making no further comment until such time as a new Head Coach is appointed.
According to Sky, German coach, Thomas Tuchel, who left PSG in December, is in line to replace Lampard.
Read Also: PSG Sack Head Coach Thomas Tuchel
Lampard was called in to meet with Chelsea board members to be informed of the news, 18 months into the three-year contract he signed as Chelsea head coach.
He signed the contract when he was appointed head coach at Stamford Bridge in July 2019 and during his first season guided the club to Champions League qualification and the FA Cup final.
He was supported by owner Roman Abramovich in the summer transfer market as Chelsea spent more than £200m on seven new signings, including big-money transfers for Kai Havertz and Timo Werner.
However, after a 17-game unbeaten run in all competitions earlier this season, Chelsea’s form has deteriorated. Since the middle of December, they have lost away to Everton, Wolves, Arsenal and Leicester and were also beaten 3-1 at home by Manchester City.
Tuchel only became available a month ago when he left PSG, less than five months after taking them to the Champions League final, which they lost to Bayern Munich.
The 47-year-old German won back-to-back league titles in Paris but that was not enough to satisfy the club’s ambitious owners, who replaced him with Mauricio Pochettino.
