Graeme Souness hopes Chelsea ignore the ‘fashionable’ choice to replace Graeme Potter and has backed Frank Lampard to get the manager’s job on a permanent basis.
The 46-year-old club legend has been placed in interim charge of the team for the remainder of the season following the shock sacking of Potter last Sunday.
Chelsea’s board are currently undertaking an exhaustive search to recruit a permanent successor but the leading candidates, Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique, would prefer to wait until the summer to take on the role.
Lampard, who has been out of work since parting company with Everton in January, has been given the chance to steady the ship and navigate the final nine games of the Premier League season, as well as oversee Chelsea’s Champions League tie against Real Madrid.
And Souness is confident Lampard can do enough over the course of the next two months to convince Todd Boehly to ignore the credentials of Chelsea’s primary targets.
He told The Daily Mail: ‘I’ve always felt you need your fair share of luck in management and I do think the stars have aligned for Frank Lampard at Chelsea.
‘He’s arriving back at the club at an incredibly good time, because slowly but surely the new buys there are starting to grasp the nettle and show what is needed to succeed at a top Premier League side.
‘Their football is good enough to win games. The team lacks only one key ingredient – a centre forward.
‘I think Frank will get this group winning football matches again. In his previous incarnation as Chelsea manager he got a punch on the nose and he will be richer from that experience.
‘Foreign managers are always in fashion. The latest is Julian Nagelsmann.
‘But it’s more than possible that Frank will improve results at the club and if that happens, he would certainly deserve the chance to manage there permanently.
‘Personally, I would love to see that and it would also be very good to see a British manager in one of our top jobs.
‘We all know what Napoleon said about wanting ‘lucky generals’. I believe this is a very good appointment.’
MORE : John Obi Mikel slams Chelsea’s new players and co-owner Todd Boehly
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
