New Coventry City boss Frank Lampard described his interim spell at Chelsea as ‘babysitting’ following the dismissal of Graham Potter in 2023.
Lampard returned to Chelsea in April of last year to lead the team until the end of the 2022/23 season after Potter was shown the door, but he doesn’t look back on that period with fond memories.
That spell marked his second stint as manager at Stamford Bridge following 18 months in charge from 2019 to early 2021, when he was sacked after a poor run of form and had disagreements with club officials over transfer policy.
During his time as interim, Chelsea’s form took a significant dip and the Blues finished in the bottom half of the Premier League for the first time since 1996 – as well as recording their lowest ever tally of points and goals scored in the modern era.
Lampard’s side had a win percentage of just 9%, the worst of any Chelsea manager who had taken charge of three or more matches – winning just one of 11 games at the helm.
Following his appointment as Coventry City manager, the 46-year-old opened up on that disappointing period in his career and described it as ‘babysitting’:
“When I rejoined Chelsea I went into a job that was a bit of babysitting from me, in terms of going in to tide them over for seven weeks.
“And I learned a lot, not in terms of coaching because it was not a coaching job but a holding the baby job while the transition was happening. I learned if you don’t get the environment right then it’s very difficult to succeed.”
This is the Lampard era. pic.twitter.com/9BxFI503Z5
— Coventry City (@Coventry_City) November 28, 2024
Can Frank Lampard turn it around at Coventry?
According to the best football betting sites, Coventry’s hopes of earning promotion to the Premier League are priced at 50/1 and Lampard faces a stiff task to guide the Sky Blues back into the frame.
After 17 games, City have tallied just four wins which is a stark underachievement for such a talented squad – but that also means it may take just a single spark to get back on track.
