Frank Lampard has insisted that the end of his spell as Chelsea caretaker manager is by no means a farewell, such is his inextricable connection to the club.
The Blues legend will take charge one more time – at home to Newcastle on the final day of the Premier League season – before concluding his second stint in the Stamford Bridge dugout.
Former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is expected to be named as Chelsea's new permanent head coach imminently.
Speaking ahead of the Newcastle game, Lampard told the club's official website:
"This may sound corny, but I don't feel like it is a goodbye. I'll appreciate it, and it will be the end of the season and the end of my small time back, and I didn't have that [the chance to say goodbye to the fans] before because it was Covid. But normally when you leave a club, you don't have a big hurrah as a manager: you are in one day and you are out the next and that is fine."
Lampard – who made 648 appearances for Chelsea and is their all-time leading scorer with 211 goals – was relieved from his first stint at the helm in January 2021, at which time the pandemic forced matches to be played behind closed doors; this time will be different. He continued:
"This is the corny part, but I will never feel like I am saying goodbye to the fans because my career as a player, a coach the first time around, and now this period is there. I live close enough to the stadium and I will be back at Chelsea many times."
