CHELSEA MANAGER FRANK Lampard this afternoon said he takes no notice of the talk about his future in the post after a poor run that has seen the Blues’ Premier League title chances slip away.A limp 2-0 defeat to Leicester on Tuesday capped a run of two wins in eight games and leaves them 11 points adrift of leaders Manchester United.

Much more was expected of the Blues after a £220 million spending spree in the transfer market at a time when most of European football’s major powers were scaling back due to the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I don’t listen to it,” Lampard said when asked about the comments over his future which link Thomas Tuchel and Massimiliano Allegri to the job.

When pressed by a reporter wondering how he could shut out the speculation when ‘it’s everywhere’, Lampard added:

“It’s only everywhere if you want to scroll through social media or something, but I don’t do that.”I’m not stupid, I know the pressures that come with managing a top football club, but I just do my job, it doesn’t matter to me.”

One element of the media that Lampard did admit taking note of was specific tactical criticism of his team. The Athletic’s Liam Twomey today asked a question about Petr Cech, to which Lampard responded:

“To be fair, Liam, I think (the players’) confidence would be shot if they read some of the pieces that you write at the minute. Because I read some of them and some of the confirmation bias that you reflect on games with… and it’s almost like a social media pundit to try and get a reaction in a negative way.

“I read the pieces when we were doing well as well and they didn’t go both ways. I think for a journalist to be objective would be a big start because players do read it.”

Twomey responded after the press conference on Twitter:

I’m reluctant to respond at all because I’m really not important to what’s happening at Chelsea (certainly not enough to be discussed in a presser), but I’ll just say I respectfully disagree with Lampard’s opinion of my objectivity.

Good or bad, it’s never personal 👍 #CFC

— Liam Twomey (@liam_twomey) January 22, 2021

Lampard was judged by the board to have performed well in his first season guiding the side to a Champions League place and the FA Cup final.

However, Lampard would not say whether the slump in form had led to him meeting with the board to discuss it.

“I don’t want to talk about private conversations,” said Lampard, of his relationship with Chelsea’s board.

“The situation changes when you move from player to manager, so I have far more conversations with the hierarchy now than I did as a player.”

Lampard said whatever happened to him it would not damage what he achieved as a player at the club.

“My career here as a player was fantastic and it’s set in stone,” he said before Sunday’s FA Cup fourth round tie with second-tier Luton

“When I say ‘fantastic’ I’m not giving it the big ‘I am’, I’m talking about the success I was proud to be a part of at the club. And the link I have here with the fans and the support I get from them is amazing. And I knew when I came into this job as a manager that can change, the tone of it.

“You do your best and I’ll continue to do that all the time while managing the club.”

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