Mateo Kovacic believes Frank Lampard’s return is ‘good news’ for Chelsea and has lifted the lid on the first team meeting under the Stamford Bridge legend.
Former Blues boss Lampard has been put in temporary charge of the team until the end of the season after Graham Potter lost his job.
Lampard, regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, previously managed the club from July 2019 until his sacking in January 2021.
The ex-England midfielder will hope to guide Chelsea to a more respectable Premier League finish, while the Blues still have aspirations of winning the Champions League ahead of a quarter-final tie against Real Madrid.
‘We obviously know him well, he was our coach before,’ Kovacic told Sky Sports as he became the first Chelsea player to discuss Lampard’s shock return.
‘It’s good news that he’s back and trying to change our season because it has not been good, we need to be honest with ourselves.
‘In the end it’s easier to sack a coach than 30 players but it’s on us as well, we need to do better.
‘We need to say thank you to Graham Potter as well, he did a good job but it’s not easy when many changes happen so it was tough for him as well.’
Kovacic also discussed Lampard’s first team meeting back in charge of Chelsea and says he ‘calmly’ explained what he expects from the squad until the end of the season.
Lampard’s first game back at Chelsea will be away to Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday.
‘We had a short meeting, he explained what he wants and what his desire is until the end of the season,’ Kovacic added.
‘We now have an opportunity to climb the table as much as we can and we have two beautiful games against Real Madrid. There is a possibility to finish the season well and if there’s a possibility we need to take it.
‘He was very calm and had a clear idea of what he expects from us. But it’s only one day so we will see what he asks us to do on the pitch and how we will prepare.
‘He’s back and now we want to do our best for the club.’
Chelsea slipped to 11th in the Premier League under former manager Potter, who was sacked after less than seven months in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat.
After losing his job at Chelsea, Lampard took over at Everton but the Toffees largely struggled during his tenure and he was sacked in January.
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