With Chelsea advancing to the next round of the FA Cup after a 4-0 win against Morecambe, Blues legend Alan Hudson has shifted to more pressing concerns in an exclusive talk with CaughtOffside.
Hudson, who starred for Chelsea after coming through the ranks in the early 70s, stated that Frank Lampard’s big focus needs to be on stoking the fire with talk of replacements already being lined up.
Hudson adds that Lampard will obviously be hoping that these rumours are ‘untrue’, which bring an unwanted scope of attention as the side prepare for a clash against fellow west London side Fulham.
Bild reported recently that Thomas Tuchel, who has just been sacked by Paris Saint-Germain, is interested in the Chelsea job owing to their contingent of German national team players.
Lampard will be delighted for his own sake after it’s emerged that the Blues were warned off Tuchel in the summer of 2017 – when they appointed Antonio Conte – as he’s seen as a kind of troublemaker.
Ex-Juventus boss Massimiliano (commonly know as Max) Allegri is also a firm contender to take the hot-seat should Lampard be sacked, with the Italian being interviewed in the past and a member of the backroom team naming the freely available tactician as an option.
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Here’s what Hudson had to say on the talk of replacements already in the works for Lampard:
“The big thing for Frank now is that he will be hoping that the rumours of a candidate being lined up are untrue. Fulham will be looking forward to this local Derby far more than Frank.”
The Blues and Cottagers’ are presented as rivals, but Hudson insists that the ‘derby’ talk is more of something for Fulham to look ‘forward’ to, considering the differing levels of the teams in the last few decades.
A fixture that is seen as a derby, even though perhaps doesn’t merit being so at this moment in time, is exactly the kind of added pressure that Lampard needs to do without with his job under question.
With all respect to Fulham and Scott Parker’s work with the side, this is an encounter that is a must-win for Chelsea – in which the Blues arguably have more to lose from than they can gain.
If Chelsea come away with a comfortable win, the rivalry talk will rightfully be silenced and it will instead be reviewed as a favourable match that the Blues should always be winning, but if an upset occurs – Lampard’s position will be incredibly hard to defend.