Manchester United legend and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has justified Chelsea’s decision to bring back Frank Lampard rather than handing Graham Potter’s assistant Bruno Saltor the interim charge for the rest of the season, using Tottenham Hotspur’s slump with Cristian Stellini in charge.
Chelsea fired Potter following a spell of dismal performances.
Lampard, who was sacked by relegation-threatened Everton this season, came in to replace him on a caretaker basis until the end of the season as the Blues remain on the lookout for a permanent manger, but it has not gone well for the returning club legend, losing each of his three games back.
Lampard’s Chelsea suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Brighton on Saturday.
The former midfielder rested several players in anticipation of Tuesday’s Champions League second leg against Real Madrid, where they trail 2-0.
Prior the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, Chelsea lost 1-0 at Wolves in Lampard’s first game back in charge.
The 44-year-old has failed to show the tactical nous to turn things around, with many starting to question his appointment, and why the Blues went ahead with Potter’s assistant Saltor in the dugout until the end of the season.
However, Neville claimed that staying put with the assistant isn’t always the best option, despite the fact Chelsea have shown little to no progress under Lampard
He said on Sky Sports: “I said that (Chelsea were better off keeping Bruno Saltor in charge), but I thought somebody told me that ‘Bruno didn’t want it’.
“He was adamant that he didn’t want it until the end of the season. I thought Bruno is a really respected guy, he is someone who has been a good player, he knows the players and just leave it as it was.
“But somebody told me that he was adamant that he just wanted to the ‘one game’ and he was out, so I can see why (they brought in Lampard).
“I mean, look at Tottenham. They have just left Stellini in and that’s not working. We can’t say that it’s a negative for Spurs, but it would be a positive for Chelsea now that Frank has come in.
“Look, it’s going to be tough for Frank if it continues as it is. He has lost his first three games. It has gone really badly.”
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