Chelsea boss Frank Lampard does NOT see himself as the ‘standard bearer’ for English managers

Frank Lampard insists he should not be judged as the ‘standard bearer’ for English managers.

Chelsea boss Lampard is only the second England manager to lead a team in two Champions League campaigns, after Sir Bobby Robson.

He believes he is judged differently in some quarters due to his nationality, and maintains that he cannot be expected to lead any form of charges before English bosses at the highest level of the game.

Lampard revealed that even some confidants questioned him about his decision to take the job at Chelsea, but 15 months later he still believes he made the right decision to take over at Stamford Bridge.

“I don’t feel responsible for the English managers union, but I was surprised myself when I was told that stat last week, the great Bobby Robson as the only other English manager who has done it,” said Lampard.

‘There was a long time when I heard English managers couldn’t get jobs in the Premier League, and there was a merry-go-round and all.

‘But I actually think it’s a bit different now, I think we now sometimes show English managers their qualities in the game, in the Premier League, in the championship, in all competitions. And hopefully there are more opportunities for them.

With the brilliant invasion of quality coaches and players into the Premier League, I sometimes think we are letting our eyes go there, sometimes it gets new and trendy, and rightly so with managers who have achieved so much. But sometimes we also have in-house managers who can do the job.

So I don’t see myself around the standard bearer or front man for it, because there are great managers and young managers. But all I can do is do the job the best I can. ‘

Chelsea will face Champions League debutants Krasnodar in Wednesday’s game in Group E, fresh from consecutive goalless draws against Sevilla and Manchester United.

Thiago Silva is rested and has not traveled to Russia, while Kepa Arrizabalaga is still missing with shoulder complaints.

Antonio Rudiger was able to prepare for his first appearance of the season after coming back into the fold after talks with Lampard.

The former Chelsea midfielder knows there were many questions about his suitability when he took over at Stamford Bridge, but the 42-year-old insists he never shared those doubts.

Asked if he thinks he is judged differently from other managers, Lampard said, “I think he may; I think when I got this job, a lot of people asked me if I got the job.

‘A lot of people told me’ are you sure you want to take it ‘because of maybe an opinion.

‘And I think when people are sometimes really quick to form an opinion right away, for whatever reason, and as a young English manager with a year at Derby, I understood something.

“But at the same time, I think that sometimes we should just judge people by their face value, as we judge any manager; no matter where you come from, i think all managers should be judged the same.

‘I was quite proud of what we achieved last season in terms of getting into the top four, in fact I thought we could have done even better than that for several reasons. But I was happy with that.

‘I can’t turn around on opinion though because if you do that when managing a Premier League team, if you look at the opinion and read and listen to everything, it will hit you every day.

So I just have to do the job the best I can. And hopefully the opinions speak for themselves. I am certainly very happy that I took the job. I am very proud to run this club every day.

‘When I say a lot of people were wary I think it was more about the circumstances, instead of maybe just seeing it from the outside and feeling what an opinion could be, I saw football and a club where I love.

‘So there was never any doubt in my head, although I always try to listen to good advice from people around me.

‘In terms of do I love it? Yes. I loved last season, the challenges it brought with the transfer ban, and now with the Covid times, it’s tough times for everyone and challenges at every level.

But in terms of the challenge as a coach and how we managed to finish in the top four, it was something that I was definitely proud of the work of the whole group, not just myself, the staff, the players and everyone.

‘And now we want to move on to a higher level. And we know there are several challenges. I was very aware of the challenges that would come at the beginning of the season, with no pre-season and a few new players, and I love that challenge every day.

‘So the answer is yes, I made the right decision, yes I feel like I made the right decision every day, and I love it.’