Premier League reaction: Frank Lampard appointed as Chelsea caretaker boss
Chelsea have appointed former manager Frank Lampard as caretaker boss until the end of the season.
The 44-year-old, who is also Chelsea's record goalscorer, was previously dismissed as head coach at Stamford Bridge following 18 months in the job.
He then took charge at Everton but was sacked in January after less than a year in the role. He did however keep the Toffees in the Premier League.
Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali told the club website:
"We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club. As we continue our exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season. We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line.
"We have an important game against Wolves on Saturday and then we will turn our attention to our Champions League quarter-final in Madrid next week. We are all going to give Frank our full backing as we aim to get the best possible outcome from all our remaining games."
Lampard also added to the same Chelsea website:
"It is clear what the role is in terms of the title of the role, and I'm absolutely understanding that. I want to do as well as I can in this period to show that I'm capable of coaching and managing really well. Then we'll see what happens."
What are the fans saying?
Lewis, a Chelsea fan from Manchester, said: "Whilst this proves to be a sign that we have no middle to long-term planning, I actually think that this is a good appointment in the short term."
Lauren, a Chelsea fan Season Ticket holder, added: "I think this is a great way of bringing the positive vibes at the club. What are the odds that he inspires a similar end of the season to 2012 and we win the Champions League? Lampard deserves a great ending to his Chelsea story."
Frank Lampard returns as Caretaker Manager until the end of the season. 🤝
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 6, 2023
Peter Jones has been a Chelsea fan for over 55 years. He is annoyed with the lack of planning on display. However, he also believes that this is a good appointment, at least on a short-term basis. Peter told us: "Lampard might inspire this team to pick up a few decent results. The last time he was manager, it only really fell apart from him in the last two months. He did pretty well before that."
@khaled02014 tweeted: "He is our prestige, our leader, our spirit, our pride, our personality, our past, our present, our future, our championships, our achievement, our legend. Super Frankie Lampard. What a man!"
