Under-fire Frank Lampard hit out at the relentless negative coverage he believes his Chelsea side have received in the media, and accused one particular journalist of ‘confirmation bias’ during a tetchy press conference ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Luton.
A shock Boxing Day defeat against Arsenal has sparked a drastic downturn in form which has left Chelsea 11 points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool, following their abject 2-0 defeat at Leicester in midweek.
Chelsea are said to be considering their options amid concerns that club legend Lampard lacks the experience to arrest a dramatic slide. German speakers, who could, it is hoped, get the best out of summer signings Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, are said to be under consideration. Thomas Tuchel, out of work following his sacking by Paris Saint-Germain, and RB Leipzig’s dynamic young coach Julian Nagelsmann are under consideration, but Lampard is likely to survive in the short-term, although the pressure is beginning tell on the evidence of Friday’s performance in his pre-match press conference.
Asked by The Athletic’s Liam Twomey if having the knowledge and experience of his former teammate Petr Cech, currently employed as the club’s technical director, to call upon represented a welcome comfort, Lampard dodged the question and criticised the coverage of Chelsea’s recent results.
Asked earlier in his press conference when Chelsea fans would see the best of Havertz and Werner, who are both struggling at present having cost a combined total of £120million, Lampard repeatedly asked ‘for a marker.’ Asked if it would take until next season before the German duo were fully acclimatised to English football, Lampard replied: ‘I’m not going to sit here and talk about next season, it would be a nonsense. Any manager in a Premier League job wouldn’t talk about next season because you can only worry about what’s in front of you. ‘Again I’ll ask you what’s the marker on that, what are you talking about, to get someone playing to the level of Eden Hazard did in the prime of his career here, what are you asking for?’
