Mateo Kovacic admits it is "good news" to have Frank Lampard back at Chelsea having reunited with his former boss.
The Blues legend, who was in charge for 18 months previously, has returned to see the club through until the end of the season after Graham Potter's dismissal. Stamford Bridge chiefs have begun their search for a permanent successor but Lampard will lead the team in the interim.
Kovacic worked under the 44-year-old for a season-and-a-half and was a regular during that period and is ready to finish the season strongly under his leadership. The Croatian however did confess that the players need to take responsibility for Potter's sacking, who he felt was given a difficult task due to the amount of ins at the club.
He told Sky Sports on Lampard's return: "We know him, he was our coach so it's good news that he's back and trying to change our season because it's not been good, we have to be honest. In the end, it's easier to sack a coach than 30 players, but it is on us, we need to do better and we have to thank Potter who did a good job, but it is not easy with so many changes so it was a tough situation for him.
"We have a short meeting and he's explained to us what he wants, what his desire is for the rest of the season. We have another opportunity to climb up the table as much as we can and we have two beautiful games against Real Madrid, so there is a possibility to finish the season well, and we should take it.
"He's come with a clear idea of what he expects from us, but it's still day one and we'll see what he asks of us on the pitch so its difficult to tell how he's going to be."
Lampard's first game will be an away trip to Wolves before the first leg of their heavyweight clash against Real Madrid. Champions League success, albeit unlikely, is Chelsea's only chance of silverware this term and would appear their easiest route into next season's competition.
The Blues currently sit in the bottom half after their latest defeat against Aston Villa on Saturday night. Lampard inherits a star-studded squad that have grossly underperformed with Potter unable to find a winning formula. The interim boss has no doubts about their quality however as he prepares to pick his first team.
He said: "Modern-day football has big squads and I understand that Chelsea might be at the top end of that. I remember being here before and I had lots of difficult decisions with really good players and people you have to tell they aren’t involved this week. Part of the job is to try to manage that situation and make every player feels included."
