FRANK LAMPARD REFUSED to indulge speculation he could become Chelsea’s new manager following Derby County’s Championship play-off final defeat to Aston Villa.

Blues legend Lampard has been heavily linked with a return to Stamford Bridge to replace Maurizio Sarri, who has been tipped for the Juventus job following Massimiliano Allegri’s surprise departure.

Lampard, whose first season as a manager ended in disappointment with a 2-1 defeat to Villa at Wembley, would not be drawn on the speculation and says he will speak to Rams owner Mel Morris in the coming days about his future.

“I’m not interested in the speculation,” he said. “I’ll sit down with Mel Morris over the next few days. I’ve got a two-year contract and I love working here.

“After my first year and the opportunity this club gave me it’s massively important that everyone understands that is my overriding feeling.

“So that’s where I am. I’ll go away tonight and have a couple of beers with the lads and the staff, and afterwards we’ll talk about where we go forward.”

Following his side’s Wempley defeat, Lampard described his players as “gutted”, but insisted he is proud of what his squad have achieved since he joined the club in May last year.

“They’re gutted because they wanted it so much, as you should,” he said. “But when a group get on as well as they did and when a group have dragged themselves through with youth and players in the last year of their contracts you’ve got a real mixture.

“They’ve managed to get this far and I’m just proud.”

Gavan Casey is joined by Murray Kinsella and Sean Farrell for a review of the 2018/19 season, and cast an eye forward to next year and the Rugby World Cup in Japan.:

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