Frank Lampard was sacked by Chelsea on Monday following a poor run of form that sees the club sit ninth in the Premier League table, eleven points adrift of league leaders Manchester United.
The Daily Telegraph reported the players were told not to come to the training ground until Monday afternoon as Lampard became the 10th manager sacked during the Roman Abramovich era.
Confirmation of his sacking was expected on Monday as the club made changes following a losing streak that had seen the London based club lose five games out of eight.
Sunday’s win over Luton Town which ensured a spot in the fifth round of the FA cup was not enough to save Lampard’s job amid reports that the board was unhappy with performances on the pitch on top of a rumoured falling out between Chelsea Director Marina Granovskaia and the Chelsea legend.
After last season’s exploits that earned Lampard praise from pundits and football observers, the Chelsea board backed the former player heavily in the transfer market splashing in excess of $292 million with the expectation that the club would build on that success.
The club finished fourth in the Premier League table and reached the FA Cup final despite being banned from making transfers during the January transfer window.
However that has not been the case as expensive summer signings struggled to adjust to life in the Premier League. Both Kai Havertz acquired from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of €80 million and Timo Werner acquired from RB Leipzig for a fee of €53 million respectively have struggled so far .
Reports indicate that former Paris Saint German and Borussia Dortmund Manager Thomas Tuchel is being lined up to replace Lampard.
The Athletic last week reported that the board wanted a German coach to replace Lampard in order to get the best out of the struggling German summer recruits.
This means that Abramovich, the Russian billionaire will have to fork out millions to pay off Lampard who is on £4million a year.
Chelsea Legend
Results divided the Chelsea fanbase right down the middle with some followers calling for him to be sacked and others urging patience with the legend who scored 211 goals for the club during his playing days.
In his post-match interview on Sunday, Lampard said the win over Luton on Sunday would ‘bring a nice air of positivity’ to the club.
He said: ‘People will look very close at the moment but I need to see a bigger picture. This was an important result because it brings a nice air of positivity to the club. We want to win more points in league. That’s where we are at.
‘It’s nice for us in the short term, the scrutiny on a club like this is normal. When you’re off it slightly the only focus should only be on changing the form. We just go again.’
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