The Japan Times - Lampard says Chelsea woes shouldn't ruin his reputation

Chelsea suffered yet another embarrassing result in a woeful season as their west London neighbours Brentford won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Lampard has been unable to stop the rot since replacing the sacked Graham Potter, who was only hired in September following Thomas Tuchel's shock dismissal.

In his second spell as Chelsea boss after previously being sacked by former owner Roman Abramovich in 2021, Lampard is only in charge until the end of the season.

Former Tottenham and Paris Saint Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly close to being hired as Chelsea's next permanent manager.

Lampard's reputation had already been tarnished by his sacking at Everton in January, with the former England midfielder leaving Goodison Park with the team mired in a relegation battle.

With 11th placed Chelsea in danger of finishing outside the top half of the Premier League for the first time since 1996, Lampard could be doing harm to his future prospects by associating himself with the crisis-torn Blues.

But Chelsea's record goalscorer sees it differently, believing potential employers must realise the mess the club was already in prior to his return.

"I took the job on knowing the jeopardy of what it might be, but I'm very proud to manage here," Lampard said.

"I came here (in 2019) when we had a difficult moment before, and we had big success in my first year. I went to Everton and had a challenge to stay in the league. I stayed in the league.

"People will perceive you in a different way anyway. In the short-term, I'm not worried."

Chelsea have lost to Wolves, Brighton and Brentford in the Premier League under Lampard, while also being dumped out of the Champions League quarter-finals by Real Madrid.

They have failed to score in four of Lampard's five matches as he struggles to make a cohesive unit out of a disparate group assembled during co-owner Todd Boehly's £550 million ($684 million) spending spree in the last 11 months.

"I want to win games, that's clear. But I understand the problems as to why we're probably not winning games," he said.

"I got asked before about belief and how we're going to change that. I can't just say 'lads, believe' and they're going to run out and believe all of a sudden.

"Those things take time and they take a bit of work, then maybe something goes in your favour. Against Brentford, nothing went in our favour."

S.Yamada--JT