should be considered for the permanent role at Chelsea, reckons Guus Hiddink, after the Englishman returned to the club as interim manager.
It has been an extremely unpredictable season at Stamford Bridge, starting with in charge before the German was replaced by , who has since been dismissed.
Lampard himself was sacked as Chelsea manager back in January 2021 and few would have expected him to be back in the hot seat by April 2023, but he is in charge for the rest of the season.
Hiddink himself had two stints as interim manager of the Blues, in 2009 and 2015-16, and he reckons Lampard is a good candidate to stay on beyond this season.
‘Honestly, 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 .
‘He knows the club like nobody else and it’s important to give continuity to things. Like anyone, Lampard is going to need time. have invested a lot of money but now need to adapt to an idea.
‘I’m very fond of him, I hope he will get Chelsea out of this predicament and get them back to where they deserve to be.’
Lampard has only taken the role until the end of the season while the club hunt down a different manager, but while the Blues legend knows those are the terms, he is not ruling out persuading his employers that he is the man for the job.
‘I’m not getting anywhere ahead of myself. I want to do the best possible role and impact the club in the best way. After that, we will see what happens,’ he said. ‘I don’t need answers to that point. I have taken that under the conditions.
‘My only focus can be this. The feeling I have from the club, rightly so, is that they want to do a process to find the right person to take the club forward whoever that might be.
‘That is absolutely their prerogative. Maybe that is why I am here. Of course, it was a surprise, you never know the decision a club is going to make. But it is not for me to decide the club’s process and how they go about it.
‘Now it is up to me to do well. After that, of course, it may mean I end up saying thank you very much, and at that point I will be very happy and say I have given everything and hopefully it is positive.’
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