Frank Lampard is ‘closing in’ on a shock return to management, it has been claimed.
Earlier this week, Mark Robins, who had been the English Football League’s longest serving manager, was sacked by Coventry.
The 54-year-old returned for his second spell at the club in March 2017 after the sacking of Russell Slade.
Robins’ departure, which came after Coventry claimed just four wins from their opening 14 Championship games, was announced on Tuesday, just over 17 months after he got the Sky Blues to the play-off final where they were beaten on penalties by Luton Town.
And according to the Mirror, Lampard is at the top of the list of replacements for Robins.
Lampard has been out of frontline management since leaving his interim role at Chelsea over a season ago.
The publication has claimed Lampard is one of Coventry owner Doug King’s preferred candidates, despite Wycombe Wanderers’ boss Matt Bloomfield having led the early betting.
Coventry icon Steve Ogrizovic was among those to question the dismissal of Robins, who took the Sky Blues from League Two to being a game away from Premier League promotion.
Very few things in football shock me but this is a poor decision,” the ex-goalkeeper told BBC CWR. “It’s not a knee-jerk decision because I think this is planned and Doug King has got a plan in the back of his mind, although what that is I don’t know.
Mark Robins had more to give, look at the club since the day he came in and it’s been year-on-year success and progression.
“The sun has been shining on Coventry and they got back into the Championship and along the way there were some great memories for people
Frank Lampard has been lined up to make a shock return to management.
The Chelsea legend has been out of work since leaving his role as Blues interim manager at the end of the 2023/24 season.
Prior to that, he had a year-long spell at Everton between 2022 and 2023, keeping them in the Premier League.
That was his first job since taking over as permanent Chelsea manager in the summer of 2019, with Lampard lasting 18 months in his first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge.
Since his most recent stint came to an end, Lampard has appeared regularly as a pundit on BBC and Sky Sports, and was in the studio for Chelsea’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Sunday.
Now, Lampard has been lined up to step back into management at a club not many would have expected.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the 46-year-old has emerged as a candidate to replace Ivan Juric at Serie A club Roma.
They are owned by the Friedkin Group – who are in advanced talks to take over Everton – and it is claimed that unnamed figures close to Everton have recommended Lampard as a potential appointment.
Juric is Roma’s third manager in 10 months, as they sacked Jose Mourinho in January before then parting company with former player Daniele de Rossi after a poor start to the current Serie A season.
The Croatian hasn’t enjoyed a strong start at Stadio Olimpico either, losing four of his first 10 games in charge.
But Gazzetta claim there are other names in the frame – and each has at least a tentative link to English football.
Roberto Mancini, who was recently sacked as manager of Saudi Arabia following a reported disagreement with players, is said to have been contacted.
And the former Manchester City manager is not the only ex-Premier League boss to be contacted, with Leicester’s title-winning coach Claudio Ranieri also said to be a possible appointment.
And the third name on the list is ex-Swansea boss Paulo Sousa, who has had something of a journeyman career in Europe and across the world managing the likes of Fiorentina, Basel, Maccabi Tel Aviv and even the Poland national team.
But Lampard’s name is said to have ‘gained traction’ in internal discussions over recent days, although it is added that a final decision over the managerial position is yet to be made.
Leave a Reply