Frank Lampard makes shock admission about his second stint as Chelsea boss as he opens up on the state he found the club in under its current ownership

Frank Lampard has opened up about his return to Chelsea as boss in 2023 – when he was employed to pick up the pieces after Graham Potter‘s short-lived reign.

The Blues were struggling in the early days of their new ownership following Todd Boehly and BlueCo’s takeover of the club in spring 2022, which saw the American businessmen purchase the club from fan favourite owner Roman Abramovic.

Thomas Tuchel had left the club, with Potter then lasting just over six months in charge before he was relieved of his duties with Chelsea struggling in the Premier League.

Lampard answered the club’s SOS call to lead the side until the end of the season, and stepped up in his former side’s time of need to lead them to the close of the campaign until Mauricio Pochettino was appointed.

It was the second time Lampard had been in charge of the side, following an 18-month stay between July 2019 and January 2021 before he too was let go.

Now, the Coventry boss has lifted the lid on the state of what he found when he walked back inside Stamford Bridge – and it doesn’t make good reading for the club’s current owners.

Frank Lampard has opened up on his second stint as Chelsea boss at the end of 2023 season

Lampard stepped in to lead the club through to the close of the campaign following the sacking of Graham Potter

It was not long after Todd Boehly and BlueCo had purchased the club from Roman Abramovic

‘I saw things that I know cannot be right at elite football and that’s the truth,’ Lampard told Sky Sports. ‘I didn’t love working in that short period because it’s hard to lay down an idea when you’re going to be leaving but Chelsea will always be a massive club in my life.

‘But when I understand the standards of Chelsea – in that period of time a lot of players were in transition of maybe leaving and some problems and motivation were a problem – in an interim period you can’t really affect that.

‘When you see the results of it, I’m experienced enough to know what’s right and what’s wrong and basic things in a training ground on a pitch.

‘I didn’t learn anything tactical but it did reinforce my beliefs of all my experiences of when you know what a group is really fighting in the same direction – how strong that can be and when it’s not, it can be really challenging.’

Lampard spent 13 years at Chelsea as a player, and is the club’s all-time top goal scorer with 211 goals in 648 games.

There, he won three Premier League titles and one Champions League, before departing in 2014 when Abramovic was still running the show.

As manager of the club, he led Chelsea to fourth in the Premier League and the FA Cup final, but was sacked when the club were ninth.

When Boehly and Co took over, meanwhile, the club were criticised for signing so many players, with reports suggesting players had to sit on the floor during team meetings due to the large numbers in the squad.

Abramovic sold the club in 2022 and had been running the show during Lampard’s time as a player and his first stint as coach

He had previously been in charge for 18 months between 209 and 2021 before being sacked himself

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Lampard was then left to clean up the mess, before handing over to former Spurs boss Pochettino.

Now, he is enjoying success with Coventry in the Championship, leading them to fifth in the second division table, where they are serious contenders to compete for a spot in next season’s Premier League.