Frank Lampard has been speaking about his desire to get back into management after being sacked by Everton and was asked about the England job
Former Everton boss Frank Lampard admits it would be “crazy” to say that the England job would never interest him as he looks for a return to management. Lampard was sacked by the Blues in January last year, with the team joint bottom of the Premier League table after 20 matches.
Although he subsequently returned in an interim role at Chelsea, his previous post to Everton and the club where he spent the bulk of his playing career – losing eight of his 11 matches in charge – 20 months on from his dismissal at Goodison Park, the 46-year-old is yet to land another permanent position. Everton fan favourite Lee Carsley, who made 198 appearances for the Blues between 2002-08, scoring 13 goals, including the match-winner in David Moyes’ first Merseyside Derby victory, is currently England’s interim manager and has won both of his fixtures since taking over from Gareth Southgate.
Lampard is wary not to be disrespectful towards the 50-year-old, who steered England to success in last year’s UEFA European Under-21 Championship, but he concedes that he couldn’t ever rule out going for the job. Carsley is currently 1/5 bookmakers’ favourite to be the next permanent England manager, but when it comes to other candidates, Lampard is fourth on the list after Pep Guardiola, Eddie Howe and Graham Potter, with odds as short as 20/1 with bet365.
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Speaking to Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan on The Sports Agents podcast, Lampard, who played 106 times for England, scoring 29 goals, was asked if the Three Lions job would be of interest to him and said: “As an English player who played 100-plus times, and an English person who’s very proud – of course, the England set up is something that I never dreamed of. I played many times for England. So, now as a coach, you know, I think I would be crazy to sort of say, ‘Oh no, that would never interest me.’”
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Lampard claims he would only consider taking the England job should the timing be right, conceding that he would need to feel that he could bring ‘value’ to the role in order to seriously consider it. He said: “It would have to be something that they would want me to do, and have to be something that I want to do and thought I could add value to it in any way.
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While the England job is something he would consider in the future, Lampard has praised Carsley for doing a ‘really good job,’ hinting that the former Republic of Ireland international could be the man to take England forward. He said: “You have to be careful saying these things now, because it’s like a common topic, and Lee Carsley is the interim manager and has done a really good job in his first two games and going forward. I would never want to rock that boat, because I’ve got a lot of time for Lee and his team, and I hope he does very well.”
With the prospect of managing England in the back of his mind, Lampard does admit that he is eyeing up a return to management and added: “Now I just want to go and work in whatever circumstance and do well. You know, there’s a lot to be said for working in club football.
“It’s day-to-day on the grass. As much as it is consuming, that’s what you love doing.”
Whether an immediate return to management is on the cards or not, Lampard acknowledges that while the allure of international football would provide a new kind of project, he is happy to leave the door open to one day becoming the England manager for now.
He said: “International football is a different challenge. So, we’ll see… maybe one day.”