Chelsea have officially sacked club legend Frank Lampard after just 18 months in charge of the club with former Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel being eyed as his successor at Stamford Bridge.
The news comes after Chelsea beat Luton Town in the FA Cup on Sunday, although the Premier League loss to Leicester last midweek is thought to have been a pivotal moment.
That result left the Blues 11 points off of league leaders Manchester United despite a £220million summer spend.
And Lampard has paid the price for the Londoners’ poor recent run, although he had spoken on Sunday about being confident of getting his side going again in the league.
They won their last top-flight match at Fulham but have only won two of their last eight games in the league, losing five.
The club released an 234-word statement announcing the news that Lampard had been dismissed on Monday morning. You can read the full statement below.
Chelsea statement in full as Frank Lampard sacked
“This has been a very difficult decision, and not one that the owner and the Board have taken lightly.
“We are grateful to Frank for what he has achieved in his time as Head Coach of the Club. However, recent results and performances have not met the Club’s expectations, leaving the Club mid-table without any clear path to sustained improvement.
“There can never be a good time to part ways with a club legend such as Frank, but after lengthy deliberation and consideration it was decided a change is needed now to give the Club time to improve performances and results this season
“Roman Abramovich said, ‘This was a very difficult decision for the Club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him’.
“‘He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers.
“‘On behalf of everyone at the Club, the Board and personally, I would like to thank Frank for his work as Head Coach and wish him every success in the future.
“He is an important icon of this great club and his status here remains undiminished. He will always be warmly welcomed back at Stamford Bridge.’
“The Club will be making no further comment until such time as a new Head Coach is appointed.”
What next for Chelsea?
Lampard leaves the Blues after overseeing 88 games as boss, winning 44. His Premier League points-per-game average of 1.67 was the lowest of any Chelsea manager in the Roman Abramovich era.
And Express Sport understands Tuchel is in pole position to be named the new Chelsea manager this week.
The German’s last job was at Paris Saint-Germain although he was sacked last month after a fall-out with the club’s hierarchy.
Tuchel took PSG to the Champions League last season and won two Ligue 1 titles in France as well as the Coupe de France, the Coupe de la Ligue and twice the Trophee des Champions.
Previously, Tuchel had won Germany’s DFB Pokal with Borussia Dortmund, whom he managed for two years.