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Former Southampton striker Kevin Phillips says current Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl would be a fine replacement for Chelsea manager Frank Lampard. However, the Englishman also believes that Lampard deserves time to turn things around at Stamford Bridge.
Phillips became a household name after joining Sunderland in 1997, winning the European Golden Shoe and the Premier League Golden Boot in the 1999/20 season.
He scored 30 goals from 36 appearances in the league that campaign and was adjudged the Premier League Player of the season too. He returned to Southampton in the summer of 2003 and scored 26 goals from 73 appearances over two seasons.
Speaking to Stadium Astro, the Englishman gave his opinion about the current Saints manager, claiming the German would do a good job if he was selected for the hot seat at Chelsea.
“Hasenhuttl – his time will come. He just has to keep doing what he’s doing. Hasenhuttl at Chelsea would do a fine job, but I want to see Frank given a chance for sure. He could certainly manage any of the teams in the Premier League – it just depends what kind of ambition he has,” said Phillips
Lampard’s job continues to be on the line, with Chelsea currently ninth in the league after 19 games, 11 points behind league leaders Manchester United. However, the Blues have progressed to the next round of the FA Cup, which will bring temporary relief to the Englishman.
Wouldn’t like to see the Chelsea manager lose his job, says Phillips
Phillips went on to talk about the qualities of Hasenhuttl which made him the perfect fit for Chelsea and pointed out that the Saints would have trouble holding on to him.
“I think he’s almost got that (Jurgen) Klopp appearance about him, that authority. He’s a big guy, he’s very intelligent, he knows the game inside out. The big thing for the club is, can they keep hold of him? The biggest problem is keeping hold of their manager,” said Phillips.
“He’s doing a really good job down on the south coast. I wouldn’t like to see Frank lose his job, I don’t like to see any manager lose their job but I understand football’s football and it’s a results business. No bigger so than Chelsea – when you’ve spent that kind of money you’re going to come under pressure to win football matches, it’s as simple as that” said Phillips.
The Englishman doesn’t want to see the current Chelsea manager getting the sack, but understands that football is a result-oriented business.
