(Reuters) – A “more experienced and better prepared” Frank Lampard should be made Chelsea’s permanent manager, the Premier League club’s former coach Guus Hiddink said.
Lampard was confirmed as the club’s interim manager on Thursday in the wake of Graham Potter’s dismissal following a string of poor results which left the team 11th in the Premier League.
“I would like him to be considered not just as an interim coach, but also to be given the confidence to continue with the project next season,” Hiddink told the Telegraph in an interview published on Friday.
“He knows the club like nobody else and it’s important to give continuity to things. Like anyone, Lampard is going to need time. Chelsea have invested a lot of money but now need to adapt to an idea.”
Chelsea reached the FA Cup final and finished fourth in the Premier League under Lampard in the 2019-20 season, but the following campaign was disappointing despite the club spending heavily on the likes of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.
“It was perhaps too soon to take on such a big responsibility,” said Hiddink, who coached Lampard during his time as Chelsea interim manager in 2009.
“He had just started his coaching career and now he’s had more experience, he’s more and better prepared. Let him work! I know him and I think he is the right person.”
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
