Coventry City: Frank Lampard hits out over “disrespectful” Chelsea talk as manager links swirl | OneFootball

The Sky Blues boss has responded to murmurs linking him with a third managerial stint at Chelsea

Coventry City will lift the Championship title on Sunday after their game against Wrexham, securing their return to the Premier League for the first time since the 2000/01 campaign.

The focus will soon be shifting towards the future of the squad and how much the Sky Blues need to bolster ahead of that top-flight homecoming, and the decision makers at the CBS Arena will be hoping that playing personnel are the only additions they need to make.

Indeed, while no concrete reports have linked Coventry manager Frank Lampard to the opening at Chelsea, of which he spent 13 years as a player and close to two years as a manager over a couple of different spells, that connection with the club has put his name in the rumour mill.

The Blues are searching for their third manager this season, after Liam Rosenior was dismissed just 106 days into his reign at Stamford Bridge in the wake of a fifth consecutive league defeat without scoring.

But Lampard isn't entertaining talks about perhaps returning for a third stint in the Chelsea dugout, instead staying focused on his current role at Coventry.

Frank Lampard empathises with Liam Rosenior after Chelsea sack decision

Speaking to the media ahead of Coventry's final home game of the campaign against Wrexham, Frank Lampard refused to comment on the decisions which led to Liam Rosenior being relieved of his duties at Chelsea, as he knows what it feels like to be in his position.

Despite the connections between Lampard and the Premier League giants, he is focused on his current job and enjoying the successes he has helped bring about this season.

"I definitely don't want to talk about Liam and Chelsea because I've been there, and I never want to talk too much about managers because of the context behind the scenes, etc," he said.

"I think it's disrespectful to have a judgement on it. That's for pundits to have a judgement. I'm Coventry manager, I'm enjoying my moment of us being promoted and winning the title, and that is it."

Lampard did comment on the "rough patch" that Chelsea is currently undergoing, and again offered his empathy towards the consequences which fell Rosenior's way. But he insisted that it is all their business and, professionally, has nothing to do with him.

"Chelsea's a big part of my life, but at the moment it's their business, and my business is here," he said.

On whether he feels Coventry fans would be worried about losing him, Lampard responded, "I don't know, I'd like to think that Coventry fans are just enjoying what we've done this season. I think in the world of management, lots of things are out of your control.

"All you can do is control your work, and I have to come and speak to you and talk about rumours, but at the minute, I think we should just enjoy where we are in an amazing season. I'm really proud and pleased to be a part of it.

"I enjoy doing what I'm doing, so I can't control who worries or not. What I would say is just enjoy this because it is a special year."

Frank Lampard makes Coventry City contract admission following Championship win

Lampard has just one year remaining on the initial two-and-a-half-year deal he signed at Coventry in November 2024, and you feel that one of the first ports of call this summer would be to extend that to avoid losing out on a good sum of money if he does get poached by another club.

Currently, there haven't been any discussions between owner Doug King and the Sky Blues boss, though.

Lampard added.

It's been a high-intensity campaign this year, and those at the CBS Arena will have been focused more on getting promotion over the line before assessing the current contract situations at both a playing and staffing level.

Now that the Championship title lift is imminent, there'd be expectations that a new contract will be on the table for Lampard, especially if other clubs start to come knocking for his services.