Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana has insisted that the decision to bring Frank Lampard back to Stamford Bridge was what the club "needed" - despite three defeats in his opening three games.
Lampard, who spent 18 months at the helm before he was dismissed by Roman Abramovich back in 2021, was swiftly installed on an interim basis by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali earlier this month after they dispensed with the services of Graham Potter.
However, while it was hoped Lampard would be able to steady the ship following Potter's tumultuous reign, the club legend has failed to inspire a turnaround for the Blues, who are still languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League standings.
Chelsea's disappointing 2-1 defeat against Brighton on Saturday means that Lampard has now lost all his matches since returning to the club. But Fofana has sang the 44-year-old's praises and is adamant that Lampard's back to basics approach will come good and help breathe confidence back into a bloated squad which has failed to meet expectations this term.
Speaking to French outlet Telefoot, via GFFN, Fofana said: “He was welcomed back in the best way possible, because he’s Mr. Frank Lampard. He’s a club legend. He told us to get our confidence back, and play simple football again. To get back to the basics, really. His words moved us all, because it’s what we needed, to get our confidence back. And to realise that we’re fighting for a club. We’re fighting for a great club.”
The beleaguered Blues and their caretaker boss have no time to lick their wounds from the weekend with a daunting trip to Real Madrid on the horizon.
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Chelsea's Champions League hopes are hanging by a thread after they were outclassed by Los Blancos in the first leg of their quarter-final tie, which the Spanish giants won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
And although overturning that deficit in the Bernabeu on Tuesday night will be no mean feat, Fofana - who joined the Londoners in a blockbuster £80million deal from Leicester back in the summer - has refused to give up hope of upsetting the odds against the Spanish giants in their own backyard.
“Chelsea have already done it after a difficult season before, with a new coach arriving,” Fofana added, referencing Tuchel's triumph after he, ironically, replaced Lampard after his first stint in the Stamford Bridge hotseat.
“They won it in 2021. So I think it’s possible, it’s in the club’s DNA. We’ve had a bad season, we know that. Now it’s up to us to show what we’re capable of. There is quality in this squad.”
