By the sounds of it, Frank Lampard has been required to deal with some pretty sloppy standards since returning to Chelsea.
The Telegraph‘s Matt Law has now released a detailed behind-the-scenes analysis of what the 44-year-old inherited from Graham Potter in west London.
Most of the information has been well documented in the media, although one part revealed that Frank Lampard had to issue a telling off in front of the entire Chelsea squad at Cobham.
What’s the story?
Well, one Chelsea player – who is not named by the Telegraph – questioned why the squad were being asked to do extra running drills.
While it is said that the mystery man maybe didn’t intend to be heard, Lampard picked up on the comment, and proceeded to answer back ‘loud and clear’ in front of the Chelsea squad.
Law adds that the interim Chelsea boss – who is set to hand duties over to Mauricio Pochettino soon – has also tried hard to get through to the players with both team meetings as well as individual chats in his office, although sources claim nothing seems to be hitting home.
On the basis of these claims, Pochettino has a huge task on his hands to repair the culture at Stamford Bridge, before he can even think about the tactical side of things.
Chelsea’s leaders need to step up
If Pochettino is going to improve this seemingly bleak situation, he needs his leaders to step up and set standards in the dressing room.
The likes of Thiago Silva – if he stays – and Cesar Azpilicueta need to inspire their younger teammates to give 100% every single day, while the experience of Raheem Sterling can also prove to be helpful.
One silver lining is that Pochettino transformed a very young Tottenham team into a competitive outfit when he took over at Tottenham in 2014, so the Argentine at least has experience of a similar situation.
Hopefully, the South American can succeed where Lampard has failed when he officially takes over soon.
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