Chelsea midfielder Jorginho has told ESPN Brasil that Frank Lampard “wasn’t ready” for the managerial job at Stamford Bridge because he “skipped a few steps.”
Lampard took charge at Chelsea in 2019 to replace Maurizio Sarri and led the club to a top four finish and an FA Cup final during his debut seasonn. It was viewed as a successful campaign after the club lost Eden Hazard to Real Madrid and could not sign players due to a FIFA transfer ban.
Chelsea spent £220m last summer but Lampard failed to get the best out of the new signings Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, which resulted in his sacking in January.
Jorginho played the full 90 minutes only on four occasions under Lampard this campaign and said the club’s all-time record goalscorer needed more experience in management before joining the blues.
“Look, I’ll be really sincere here on Lampard. I believe, given he was a legend at the club, he skipped some steps necessary for learning before moving to a big club,” Jorginho told ESPN Brasil’s Resenha.
“He came to a club where he is a legend, without having experience at other clubs. I think he came too soon, skipped a few steps ahead and wasn’t ready for a job at this level, to be honest.”
Lampard’s first managerial role came at Derby County where he helped them to the 2019 Championship playoff final but suffered a defeat against Aston Villa.
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Tuchel replaced Lampard and has guided the club into the Champions League semifinals and back into contention to finish in the top four. Speaking ahead of West Ham clash on Saturday, the German thinks Chelsea fans will forgive the club after thier attempts to join the Super League.
“It’s the owner’s club, it’s not my club. I am part of the club,” he said. “It’s the club’s decision and now they’ve changed. So there’s no need to apologise to me. We were distracted, yeah, because otherwise it wouldn’t have made sense to focus on games.
“I arrived in a state of mind on Tuesday with not the usual mindset I arrive for a match. It’s in the past now. Like I said, I don’t think they need to apologise to me. Nobody needs to apologise [to me].
“I haven’t spoken to the owner since I arrived. I’ve spoken to the club before and after the match. I was told we were pulling out and that was all I needed to prepare against for the next match against West Ham.”
