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'Chelsea have to take a long term view on Lampard' | Pat Nevin

Pat Nevin dropped into the Football Show on Monday's Off The Ball where he chatted about how Chel...



Pat Nevin dropped into the Football Show on Monday's Off The Ball where he chatted about how Chelsea need to think strategically about the future of the club and Frank Lampard.

While there are no fans at Stamford Bridge to make their feelings known in the clearest possible way there has been plenty written online to suggest fans are not happy with their former hero Lampard.

"If you look on the Chelsea website now, you will see fans, most from abroad who are saying 'sack Frank,'" noted Nevin.

"They were saying three weeks ago 'give him a new contract.' That is the bizarreness of this. If you are an executive of the club and you are looking at this as a decision-maker, you have got to have a long-term view.

"Making judgements quickly is dangerous, the knee-jerk stuff is dangerous, however, in this particular season with the weirdness of this season, there is a multitude of reasons.

"The had no pre-season, a number of clubs are going through transitions including Chelsea. If you make those snap decisions, you have to live with them for the next two, three or four years."

Nevin feels Chelsea are already paying the price for previous hasty decisions and will be unlikely to do the same with Lampard.

"Someone said to me the other day they should get rid of Havertz and Werner because they are not doing it. I thought, 'remember guys called Salah and De Bruyne they weren't doing it for Chelsea either and they got rid of them too.'

"If you make decisions, and you believe in them, you have to stick by them for a period of time, that's what they have to do. Chelsea have not done that massively in the past.

"Oddly, I would suspect they will stick by the manager this time."

Lampard in or out for Chelsea fans?

While there are clearly vocal Chelsea fans turning against Lampard online, Nevin feels it would not be the same with the dyed in the wool fans at the ground?

"That happened at the start of the season and then they turned back [in favour of Lampard]. When you say fans, it is 'fans'.

"The fans at Stamford Bridge, when they can come in, they would be behind the manager, a bit grumpy but they would accept it. Last season they were saying 'mid-table is fine with Frank.'

"They just want a rebuild and they know it's going to take a bit of time, but that's not what you hear compared to social media."

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Cfc Chelsea Frank Lampard Pat Nevin Premier League