Frank Lampard has admitted that coming back to Chelsea as interim manager was an easy decision for him.
Lampard said he was surprised to get another call from Chelsea but it was an opportunity he couldn’t miss.
The Stamford Bridge legend is back in the dug-out in the wake of Graham Potter’s sacking last weekend.
READ ALSO: Lampard returns to Chelsea as caretaker manager
Lampard will aim to improve on their current Premier League position of 11th and advance in the Champions League.
Chelsea were initially linked to former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann as well as former Spain manager Luis Enrique.
However, the club has now turned to Lampard, who was sacked by Everton earlier in the season. He will take the remaining matches and try to push the team into the European places.
“It’s a pretty easy decision for me,” said Lampard. “This is my club; I have a lot of emotions here. I’m also a very practical person. I’ve been on a different path.
“I’m delighted to get the opportunity and thankful for that. I’m confident in myself. I have a good understanding of the squad and worked with a lot of them before.
READ ALSO: Luis Enrique emerges as front-runner for Chelsea job
“I have my idea about where I want to go. “Credit to Bruno who took the team and Potter, who I don’t know that well but he’s a good man. I have my own ideas.”
Owners delighted to have Lampard but the search continues
Co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali added: “We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge.
“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.
“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.
“There is 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.”
There will be a search for a permanent manager in the summer at the end of the season, with Enqirue understood to have held talks with Chelsea earlier this week.
Lampard joined Chelsea in 2001 from West Ham and went on to 648 appearances for the club.
In that time he won three Premier League titles and the 2012 Champions League.
After beginning his managerial career with Derby County he was appointed Chelsea manager in July 2019.
He led the club into the top four in his first season and navigated a transfer ban as well as bringing through academy players such as Reece James, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham.
However, he was fired in January 2021 with the club struggling, and his replacement Thomas Tuchel went on to win the Champions League the same year.
Tuchel was fired earlier this season by the new owners and was replaced by Potter.
