Frank Lampard remained coy when he was asked for an update on who will succeed him as Chelsea manager. The 44-year-old was named caretaker boss earlier this month following the dismissal of Graham Potter, while Todd Boehly continued the search for a permanent successor.
Julian Nagelsmann, Luis Enrique and Vincent Kompany have all been name-checked in relation to the vacant head coach position at Stamford Bridge, but Mauricio Pochettino has recently emerged as a frontrunner. The Blues have held 'very positive talks' with the former Tottenham boss, football.london understands.
While the west Londoners don't want to rush into an appointment, it's believed that Pochettino is primed for the job, with confidence from both parties that a deal will be done. Senior figures at Chelsea see the 51-year-old as the ideal candidate to resume the club's long-term project – and the Argentinean appears eager to make his return to Premier League management.
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Following the Blues' disappointing defeat to Brentford, Lampard was asked for an update on the club's search for a new boss. He simply replied: "Nothing."
Then, Lampard was asked whether he underestimated the size of the task at hand and whether his poor results will damage his reputation. The interim Chelsea manager is still winless after five games in charge – and the toughest fixtures are still to come.
With Pochettino leading the race to take the helm at Stamford Bridge, Lampard offered some words of wisdom amid a miserable state of affairs. The Blues' all-time top goalscorer said: "I'm not concerned about what people outside think because I don't think they ever understand the conditions of what you're working with.
"There's an understanding of where we're at as a club. Two of those games against Real Madrid and clearly when I came in, I'm here for a reason, the results weren't what they want. The challenge, I didn't have a bar what the challenge was going to be. I understood there would be challenges behind the scenes because of where we are.
"That's been clear to me coming in. In a short time frame, it's really hard at this stage of the season to get that turn, you just have to keep working for it and we haven't got it yet. I'm not concerned, I took it on knowing the jeopardy of what it might be.
"I'm very proud to manage here and I've been in similar situations," Lampard added. "I came here in a difficult moment before and we had big success in my first year. I went to Everton, I had a challenge to stay in the league, I stayed in the league. People will always perceive me in a different way anyway.
"In this short term, I'm not worried, I want to win games, it's clear. I understand the problems as to why we're probably not winning games. I got asked before about belief and how you're going to change that. I can't just say, 'lads, believe' and they're going to run out and believe.
"These things take time and a bit of work and then maybe something goes in your favour. Tonight nothing went in our favour. We have to keep working towards the idea that something will. If it's against Arsenal, Bournemouth or Forest.
"The bigger picture for Chelsea will be much bigger as the club moves forward in the summer and onwards. In this short period with the players I'm working with, they need to dig deep to find that one."
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