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According to under-fire Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, the phrase 'player power' is often misused.
Lampard took over as Chelsea manager in 2019 after a storied playing career at the club. After a good first season in which Chelsea qualified for the UEFA Champions League despite their transfer ban, the second season under Lampard has left a lot to be desired.
The Chelsea manager has been facing the heat after some poor performances this season. The 42-year-old stated that he did not expect his bench-players to complain.
"Having been in those squads, I can say clearly how sometimes that the player power phrase got relayed to the open world and what was going on inside was not always the same thing. Where we are at the minute is we we have been off the pace of winning the Premier League for a few years."
Lampard's Chelsea sit ninth in the league table and criticism has been aimed at the manager. Despite heavy investment in the squad last summer, including huge outlays on the likes of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, Chelsea have failed to impress.
Chelsea view alternate options as Lampard continues to face the heat
The former England international admitted that Chelsea were in the middle of a rebuild
"When you are in a rebuild you are searching for anything that can help this squad grow. When it is growing there are tough times. They have to react, they have to get over it. I am looking closely at the players, as I look at myself because the players will do it on the pitch but I am always at the forefront of it."
He also said that he wanted his Chelsea side to be filled with players who wanted to play football.
"I never came into this job thinking for one minute that I'm going to have a squad of 25 players or so who are going to be saying, 'I love not playing football'. I realised pretty quickly in this job whether we win or lose there will be players who will be wanting to play."
Reports have suggested that Chelsea have identified former Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel and former Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri as potential options to replace Lampard if results continue to disappoint.
Also Read: Reports: Chelsea problems rise as squad shows discontent with Frank Lampard's tactics
