Chelsea legend Frank Lampard is currently enjoying a very successful spell since being named manager of Coventry City in the Championship.
Fans of the Sky Blues have been full of praise for Lampard in his opening months in charge, as he has steered them back on track towards the play-off places in the second tier of English football.
It is the Chelsea legend’s first job back in management since he was sacked from his role at Everton. After keeping the Toffees in the Premier League, it was not long before he was gone.
- READ MORE: Chelsea legend Frank Lampard helped Coventry do something for the first time in 75 years on Saturday
Abdoulaye Doucoure slams Chelsea legend Frank Lampard
This job came after two spells in the hotseat at Stamford Bridge, with the latter coming in a desperate attempt to steady the ship after Graham Potter’s nightmare season in West London.
One player who didn’t get the opportunities he was hoping for under Lampard’s leadership at Everton was Abdoulaye Doucoure, who has been an important player for Everton under both Sean Dyche and David Moyes since.
The midfielder believes he was disrespected by Lampard during their time together at Goodison Park, saying he didn’t communicate his decision to leave him out of first team affairs.
He told The Overlap: “Frank Lampard was the only one who didn’t trust me a lot, and I think he made a mistake with me to be honest. I’m a hard-working guy, I’m a very humble person, I work hard in training.
“Obviously you can make choices, I never contest the choice a manager makes. But obviously sometimes you have to be fair, and I think he was not fair with me, because leaving me on the bench for so many games, and not give me really my chance, that’s why it just upset me with him.
“He didn’t talk. There was no communication between me and him. I never go to see him ‘why am I not playing?’
“And they said you need to train with the Under 21s or train alone. Luckily it was not long, as he was sacked I think a week after, so I just trained alone for 2/3 days, and the week after I was back into the team and we were winning against Arsenal.
“For him, obviously he was a great player, everyone knows that, but as a manager I think with Everton it was a big lesson for him, and I think he learnt from that.”
What have Chelsea players said about Frank Lampard as a manager?
Lampard got a close look at a number of current Chelsea players during his second tenure at the club, although had limited time to make a real impact on those individuals.
It seems as if he made an impact on Noni Madueke though, who is currently enjoying regular minutes under Enzo Maresca.
He said to the Chelsea website: “I’ve enjoyed my six months so much. I’m blessed to play for Chelsea. That’s one thing I never take for granted.
“I’ve been in the team for the last month and a half. The gaffer (Lampard) has shown great confidence in me. He has helped me a lot so I wish him all the best. He has probably taken my game to another level. I have a lot of levels I can get to and in time hopefully I will do that with the boys.”
Madueke will be hoping he is brought back into the starting side for the upcoming Premier League game against Brighton.
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