Frank Lampard has rubbished claims Chelsea owner Todd Boehly appointed him as interim manager after a recommendation from James Corden.
Lampard was reappointed Blues boss to the surprise of many last week and reports suggested Corden, who is friendly with Boehly, persuaded the American billionaire owner to bring back the club’s record goalscorer to the dugout.
Corden, a West Ham fan, has hosted American talk show The Late Late Show since 2015 and was seen at Stamford Bridge with Boehly last October.
Lampard took charge of his first match in his second stint in charge on Saturday, a 1-0 defeat to Wolves, and now turns his attention to tonight’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at holders Real Madrid.
Lampard, who also knows Corden well as a result of appearing on Sky’s A League of Their Own which also features his cousin Jamie Redknapp as a captain, hit back at the rumours in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
“They [Chelsea owners] probably make decisions based on more than a conversation with one person,” Lampard stated.
“So that’s as much as I’ll give that question.”
Chelsea sacked Graham Potter after the Blues dropped into the bottom half of the Premier League table following a 2-0 home defeat against Aston Villa.
Lampard, who was previously in charge at Chelsea for 18 months from July 2019-January 2021, won the Champions League with the club as a player in 2012 and insists it is a “huge honour” to lead the Blues at the Bernabeu this evening.
"As a player, it was always the special competition,” Lampard said.
“So to be here as a manager - particularly when a week ago today I didn’t know I’d be here - is a huge honour, and a big part of my thought process of taking on the challenge here.
"It’s an amazing challenge for me personally as well as obviously for us as a team and a club. I’m really looking forward to the occasion myself."
He added that N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount and Thiago Silva were all available for tonight’s game against the 14-time European champions.
