LAMPS IN DARK OVER BLUES JOB
‘I have no idea about sack’ says Frank
FRANK Lampard admits he has no idea whether he’s about to get the sack.
The Chelsea manager is under growing pressure after a run of just one win in the past six Premier League matches.
After a decent start to the season the Blues have looked all over the place lately.
They were brushed aside by a struggling Arsenal and well beaten at home by Man City at the weekend.
Chelsea are not known for giving their managers time to sort out bad runs.
So even after this short blip, Lampard is looking over his shoulder.
He admitted: “I am not going to speak for people above me because I can never do that. That’s why I couldn’t answer a month ago about me getting a new contract.
“I can’t answer what they’re thinking about now, but it is what it is.”
Lampard was given big money to spend in the summer window.
But his new signings like Kai Havertz and Timo Werner have struggled to make an impact.
Lamps knows that’s a problem but says his newcomers need more time — as does he.
He added: “There is never going to be an absolute trajectory that goes up and up and up.
“So maybe we had 16 games unbeaten, great, I still saw flaws. When we lost four games in quick succession, I see flaws and they are much more evident to everybody.
“It is my job to focus on working on them, not what the board are thinking. That would just distract me and I can’t do it.”
It hasn’t been a disaster for the Blues and they have qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
And they are only three points off where they sat at this stage of last season — and still on the verge of the top four.
Lampard admits more is expected of his team though.
He added: “I will always feel heat. I felt heat when we were on our good run because I know that around the corner can be negatives.
“I expected periods of difficulty this year. I said it when we beat Leeds and everyone was championing us to be title contenders. I know it doesn’t come that easy. I know where we are at. Whether it puts pressure on me or not is regardless.
“One month ago, everyone was asking whether I’d sign a new contract. Now people will be saying different things because over a tight, busy period, we’ve lost four games.
Tough
“So the pressure remains constant and you know in tough moments that will be there. I didn’t get into this job being unaware of that. My job is to keep working.
“At the minute, we are in a tough period. The expectations after Leeds that we are title contenders was not real. I am real now in saying the club has to take pain for where we want to get to.”