Lampard: I want no favours – judge me on what I do now
Former midfielder given £4m-a-year deal as coach Status ‘worth no more than five minutes’ credit’
Frank Lampard has insisted he does not expect any special favours as Chelsea’s head coach and claimed his glittering playing career would not earn him more than “five minutes” of credit in the hot seat.
Chelsea have handed Lampard a three-year contract worth about £4 million a year plus bonuses, which has delighted the club’s supporters who worshipped him as a player.
Lampard is Chelsea’s all-time top goalscorer and won every domestic and European honour with the club during 13 successful years.
But he does not expect his playing career to earn any extra time with owner Roman Abramovich, who, he revealed, he had not spoken to during the negotiations that resulted in his appointment.
“When I started out in management one year ago, I thought that was a challenge because you have to start again,” said the 41-year-old. “I don’t want credit for my playing career. I think that will last five minutes and I understand that it should last five minutes, because I should be judged on what I do here.
“I worked hard to put that right as a player and now I am in a position where I have to work hard to be successful as a manager here.”
Lampard acknowledged that he was ready for people to question whether he had the coaching experience to take charge at Chelsea, following one season at Derby County in which he took them to the Championship play-offs final.
And he was adamant that he would not rely on his name, or the fact Chelsea cannot sign players under the terms of their two-window transfer ban, to buy additional time.
“The word realist keeps coming up and I am a realist, and I don’t want favours going into something. That is not the way I work,” he said.
“Of course, when you come to a club like Chelsea, who have expectation, who have standards, who are competitive each year, I understand that and I can’t run away from that. I wouldn’t say I am apprehensive, I am a realist, I understand what is wanted from me from within the club. I will try to deliver.
“Of course, there are variables at the moment. We know about the transfer ban, we know that Manchester City and Liverpool pulled away slightly last year.
“I think we have to be realistic about that, but we should never stop trying as Chelsea to be up there, and I think we should be. I don’t want to proclaim that we will do this and that, but my instinct was to come to this job and my instinct from Chelsea and from above will always be that we have to be competitive and look to start the season looking to win.
“The reality is the owner has won 16 trophies in 16 years, huge success, he runs it as he sees best and his desire has always been for the best for the club. He has chosen me hopefully on that premise.
“I don’t know whether it will change. My role is to do the best on the training ground, and on match days, but also to form relationships with the people at the club.”
Lampard confirmed his backroom staff would be assistant Jody Morris and fitness coach Chris Jones, as well as Joe Edwards, who has been promoted from the academy, and Eddie Newton, who was in charge of the loan players.
The negotiations were conducted by director Marina Granovskaia, rather than Abramovich, underlining the faith the Russian billionaire has in her.
“I haven’t spoken to him [Abramovich] at the minute,” said Lampard. “I have spoken a lot to Marina and we have spoken in depth because it is about how I want to work with the club and how they want me to work with them.
“I will be speaking with the owner in pre-season. He is a busy man and I know he is a very private man and I respect that completely, so it won’t be one where I come out saying what has been said.
“I do think one of the benefits of me being here is that I don’t need huge amounts of conversation. The conversations I had with Marina were exactly as I expected.
“I felt that from the minute the owner came in years ago. I remember him landing at Harlington [the former training ground], coming and speaking to us, and for me the landscape of the club changed in an instant because of the desire for excellence. A desire for excellence in training facilities at the time, standards on the pitch at the time, and I don’t think the levels have dropped.
“Nobody can win the league every year and have complete success. But that hasn’t changed, so when I speak to the owner I expect him to demand the same things I demand of myself and the team.”