Yahoo Finance Frank Lampard to stay in management after Chelsea sacking, says Peter Crouch
Peter Crouch believes Frank Lampard will shun a return to punditry and stay in management following his sacking by Chelsea.
Lampard was sacked by Chelsea on Monday and leaves with the club sat ninth in the Premier League.
The 42-year-old was appointed by the Blues in 2019 after making his managerial debut the previous season with Derby.
Before that, Lampard worked as a pundit and - after being sacked from his dream job as Chelsea manager - it had been speculated he may pursue a career in that instead.
But former Tottenham striker Crouch - who played alongside Lampard for England - believes his old team-mate will want to get back into coaching.
“I think management is him now,” Crouch told Standard Sport. “He’s always been successful whatever he’s done and he’s always worked incredibly hard.
“I don’t think that [punditry] will be him. He’ll want to prove to everyone he’ll be back in management and he'll be back in management soon.
“The [Chelsea] job came early, it was a dream job, but what is he going to do? Turn it down and say I’ve only been at Derby?
“You’ve got to take these opportunities when they come about. There was always the danger of this happening and it ends badly for most managers.
“When you get into management, you have to say: ‘It’s going to end badly’ - because it normally does. It is very rare both parties say: ‘That was great, well done’.
“It’s a ruthless, ruthless job. Frank will have known that. But I still feel it’s early. He’s a young manager, making his way in the game, and that’s why I felt it was a good appointment.
“There were always going to be bumps in the road, but I’ve played with Frank, he knows the game inside out, he knows the club inside out and we’ve seen managers in worse positions stay in jobs.
“So I felt like with the amount of money spent, the amount of players to come in, they needed time to click. The worst thing for him is that whoever comes in next will probably see the improvement of those new signings and reap the benefits.
“The owner has a history of making very early changes but it felt like this was a bit different, like Frank may have deserved a bit of grace because he was such a legend of the football club and a young manager.
“When they hired him, I don’t know what they expected. There may have been bumps in the road but I felt like Chelsea were getting back to being Chelsea again.
“The identity had been a little lost under previous management, but Frank was bringing back young players, bringing back an identity to the club and a rapport with fans.
“It just felt like he was the right fit. And of course results haven’t been good enough, but it was his first blip. There’s a lot to be said for sticking with someone when they’re going through a tough time.”
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