OFFICIAL: Chelsea Announces The Return Of Ex-Manager Frank Lampard As Boss Until End Of Season.

Chelsea FC have announced that Frank Lampard has been named Caretaker Manager until the end of the season.

Lampard, 44, was confirmed as Chelsea 's interim manager on Thursday afternoon, just days following the sack of Graham Potter on Sunday, after less than seven months in charge.

The club will continue to meet other managers as candidates for a long term job.

Lampard, who scored 211 goals in 648 games in his 13 years stay as a Chelsea player, said it was an "easy decision" to return.

"This is my club," he said. "I have a lot of emotional feelings towards the club."

“I will do my best, then we will see what happens. So it won't be my decision to stay long-term. I understand I will be asked a lot, I've got my eyes open. I'm excited as there’s lot of talent here.

“It was easy to accept this job for me; this is my club.

“I believe we’re still in the title race there’s plenty more to achieve.

“I'm delighted to get the opportunity and I want to be thankful for that to the people who decided to give me that opportunity. I am confident in myself.

“I have a good understanding of the squad, of course I have worked with a lot of them before but also the stadium, the training ground, the fans, what Chelsea fans want and I'll do my utmost in this period coming up to give them what they want with my own hard work.”

Lampard was previously sacked by Chelsea in January 2021 after two-and-a-half years as manager before being replaced by Thomas Tuchel, and was also asked about the possibility of extending his second spell as manager after the end of the current season.

"The most important thing for me is to finish the season strong and do my job... adds Lampard.

"I was there during the game on Tuesday, there is a lot of talent in the team and I look forward to working with them."

Lampard said he is yet to confirm his coaching staff, but on Thursday The Athletic reported that Ashley Cole, Joe Edwards and Chris Jones look set to join Chelsea's coaching staff.

The trio worked with Lampard during his first spell as manager at Chelsea and his spell at Everton .

He takes charge of Chelsea training today at the club's Cobham base, and would be in the dugout for their game against Wolves this weekend, before meeting European champions Real Madrid in the first leg quarter-final of the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Blues are 11th in the Premier League, 14 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, despite having spent more than £550m on new players this season.

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— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 6, 2023

 Co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said in a statement: "We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club.

"As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season. We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line.

"We have an important game against Wolves on Saturday and then we will turn our attention to our Champions League quarter-final in Madrid next week. We are all going to give Frank our full backing as we aim to get the best possible outcome from all our remaining games."