LONDON – Frank Lampard has admitted that angry Chelsea fans had every right to boo his team after they suffered a fifth successive defeat under his charge in a dismal 2-0 English Premier League home loss to Brentford on Wednesday.
Cesar Azpilicueta’s own goal and Bryan Mbeumo’s late strike condemned the 44-year-old to his latest demoralising loss since replacing the sacked Graham Potter in early April.
The Blues have failed to score in six of their last seven games and are languishing in 11th place in the Premier League.
They have also not won in any competition since March 11 against Leicester City, a winless run that now stands at eight games.
Six of those eight winless matches have come at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea supporters let rip after the loss to west London neighbours Brentford, who have traditionally been in their shadow but are now above them in the standings.
“Absolutely the fans are going to be worried. If you’re a Chelsea fan, you’ve been used to 20 years of success, you’re used to it and you want it more,” Lampard said.
“I’ve got no problem with fans booing. I’m not sitting here to go against the fans and say don’t boo the players.”
The caretaker boss is in charge only until the end of the season, with reports that former Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino is close to being hired as the latest manager of owner Todd Boehly’s troubled 11-month reign.
Boehly has already axed Potter and Thomas Tuchel, leaving the squad in turmoil when Lampard returned for his second spell in charge.
Lampard, who said there was “nothing” to add about a potential Pochettino appointment, is adamant that his players are committed to the cause despite accusations from fans about their lack of work ethic.
Facing Chelsea’s first finish outside the top 10 since 1996, he added: “I’ll defend the players because they’re young lads who want to do well. Is there an issue with confidence? Yes. Is there an issue with the balance of the squad? Maybe yes. I’m not patronising everybody.
“When you’re in this moment with a lack of confidence, then it can be difficult to win a game. I’m not exonerating the players, far from it. I’m just supporting them.
“Are we dynamic enough in the final third? No. Have we been for a long time before I came here? No. Those things are not things that are going to turn overnight. We have to keep working.”
When asked about what he plans to do to change Chelsea’s fortunes with six games left in the league, Lampard said: “We would love a magic wand, a magic moment. But it doesn’t come in football because the Premier League moves so fast, it’s competitive. So we will have to fight for our moment.”
Brentford went ahead when defender Mathias Jorgensen headed on a corner at the near post and the ball struck Azpilicueta and went in after 37 minutes, before the visitors even had a shot on target.
Chelsea tried to fight back, but it was substitute Mbeumo who taught the Blues another lesson in the 78th minute when he drifted in from the right and his fiercely hit shot was deflected beyond goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The three points pushed Brentford up a spot to ninth in the league, eight points ahead of Chelsea (39).
Brentford coach Thomas Frank was able to celebrate surpassing his side’s points tally for all of last season – their first in the Premier League – with Wednesday’s win.
“You can’t take that for granted. That takes a lot of hours on the training pitch, in the offices, over a year to be in a position where we are now,” he said.
“Of course you’re pleased they showed us so much respect, but I was surprised.” AFP, REUTERS
