Chelsea 's co-controlling owners, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, say that Frank Lampard can 'drive them to the finish line' after confirming his appointment as caretaker manager.
The Blues duo, who sacked Graham Potter on Sunday after six miserable months in charge, have welcomed club legend Lampard back to Stamford Bridge for his second stint as manager. The ex-Chelsea midfielder spent 18 months in charge before he was ruthlessly sacked under the previous regime, led by Roman Abramovich, in favour of Thomas Tuchel in January 2021.
Boehly and Eghbali have now turned to him in their hour of need, declaring in a statement: "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 thorough and 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."
Chelsea have also begun talks with candidates to succeed Lampard at the end of this season, with former Barcelona and Spain boss Luis Enrique flying to London for a meeting on Wednesday. Recently-sacked Bayern Munich manager Julian Naglsmann is also on their shortlist alongside ex-Tottenham and Paris Saint-German gaffer Mauricio Pochettino.
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Lampard, 44, has been out of work for two-and-a-half months after losing his job at relegation-threatened Everton. The Chelsea hero previously managed Derby County in his first managerial role, taking the Rams to the Championship play-off final.
His efforts earned him the opportunity to take charge of his beloved Blues in the summer of 2019. Then-owner Abramovich put his faith in him to lead the club, who at the time were under a transfer embargo and entering a period of transition with their squad.
Lampard achieved a fourth-placed Premier League finish in his first season as well as reaching the FA Cup final. His second campaign - ahead of which Chelsea splashed more than £200m on new signings - was less successful, only lasting half of the term before Tuchel replaced him and went on to win the Champions League within his first five months.
