Thomas Tuchel spoke exclusively to Sky Sports before Chelsea's trip to rivals Arsenal on Sunday, live from 4pm; head coach revealed he questioned decision to sack Frank Lampard before taking the job and admits last season's Champions League success has "raised the bar"
By Vicky Gomersall and Joe Shread
Sunday 22 August 2021 09:56, UK
Thomas Tuchel has admitted that, before replacing Frank Lampard as head coach, he asked Chelsea's board if they were sure about sacking the club's record goal-scorer due to his legendary status at Stamford Bridge.
Lampard - who won 11 major trophies as a player at Chelsea - was sacked in January after 18 months in charge and succeeded by Tuchel, who had recently left Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite his side's patchy form in the weeks leading up to his departure, Lampard had led Chelsea to the Champions League knockout stages on two occasions, as well as a top-four Premier League finish and an FA Cup final during his time in charge.
In an exclusive interview ahead of Chelsea's trip to rivals Arsenal on Sunday - live on Sky Sports - Tuchel admits Lampard's achievements as both a player and manager led even him to question whether sacking the former Derby boss was the right decision.
Tuchel revealed: "I actually said to the board, 'are you sure of doing this? Because they will not like you. Maybe he deserves more time.' Because when I think of Chelsea I think about Frank Lampard, John Terry, Petr Cech, Didier Drogba.
"I think about him in the very first moment because he embodies everything that Chelsea is: hard work, aggressive player, big leader but at the same time a normal guy on the pitch and such a team player. A true, true legend.
"But I clearly understood the choice was more or less made and it was take it or leave it. Then I hoped for a fair chance with the players because when you step in, there is not everybody happy from 20, 22 players.
"You cannot expect everybody to be happy with the manager gone, especially because he had a good [Champions League] group stage, good results, good performances and sometimes he was also simply unlucky, with what the data showed to us.
"But I said very early, 'listen guys, I did not push him out. I am just here now to continue in my way and let's try to be open and give us a chance together.'
"I'm in a top club with fantastic support, super organised and strong group on the field. It's a pleasure to work every day and it's like this since day one."
In hindsight, Tuchel may not have questioned the Chelsea board's decision, as the German went on to guide his new team to Champions League glory just four months after taking charge.
Source:
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12387048/thomas-tuchel-says-he-asked-chelsea-board-if-they-were-sure-about-sacking-legend-frank-lampard
