Frank Lampard signaled reluctance to deal with Chelsea despite failing to bring Derby County promotion to the English Premier League next season.
Derby failure for promotion is sure to be a concern for Chelsea fans. The problem was before the playoff match, Lampard, who was a former Chelsea midfielder, was called a strong candidate for substitute coach Maurizio Sarri, who would later become Juventus coach replacing Massimiliano Allegri.
Derby previously stayed one step further into the highest caste competition in the Monarchy. However, they lost 1-2 to Aston Villa in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium on Monday (27/5).
Aston Villa opened the scoring in the 44th minute thanks to an Anwar El-Ghazy goal utilizing assists from Ahmed El Mohamady. They doubled the score in the 59th minute through John McGinn’s goal in the 59th minute.
While the only goal of the former Chelsea player’s squad was scored by Jack Marriott assists from Jayden Bogle.
In a press conference after the match as quoted by the Daily Star, Lampard did not want to mention the former club when answering reporters’ questions about the possibility of training at the Blues.
“[Derby County] has become my club, now it is my club. I have no communication with other clubs,” said Lampard.
Lampard seems to still want to survive in Derby County. However, he still asked for certainty from the club in order to continue to handle the Rams next season.
“With a squad of 12, 13, 14 of our players still have to work hard at it. They are very crucial.”
“I feel at home this year working with players who have had special experiences,” said Lampard.
Derby County itself is likely to retain Lampard even though he failed to bring his team to the English Premier League.
Lampard was considered successful enough to lift the team from adversity by motivating the players during the season. Moreover, the achievement of the team to the Championship play-off final was said to have exceeded the club’s target to him.
“I really appreciate [Derby County owners] Mel Morris for a number of [funds] already invested in this club. As I said, I have no talks with other clubs,” Lampard explained.
Inevitably, the statement was a bad sign for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic, who was said to be starting to be interested in bringing Lampard to the club replacing Maurizio Sarri. Previously, Sarri was likely to dock at Juventus.
Lampard, 40, previously spent 14 seasons playing at Chelsea. He then moved to Manchester City and New York City FC. He retired in 2016 and since May 2018 then began serving as Derby County coach.
