Chelsea fans largely look back at Frank Lampard’s first tenure in charge as very successful, however Jody Morris has explained he tried to talk him out of taking over in 2019.
Lampard took over the club off the back of a transfer ban, as well as the exit of Eden Hazard, however still led the Blues to a top four finish.
Things didn’t work out after big money was spent on new signings, and the hiring of Thomas Tuchel brought an end to his and Jody Morris‘ time at the club.
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Jody Morris told Frank Lampard to reject Chelsea because of disrespectful negotiations
Lampard’s former teammate followed him from Derby as his assistant manager, although has now revealed he actually tried to talk his friend out of taking the job at Stamford Bridge in the first place.
Morris told ‘All Out Football‘ that he felt the pair were being disrespected during negotiations with Chelsea.
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He said: “No, there was there was certain periods before we actually went there where we was negotiating to do with the deals that we would go and I was like they were maybe not being as good and as welcoming as I think they should have been.
“So I was like well let’s not go then, let’s stay at Derby.
“Yeah. And there was that a moment of for maybe two or three days where I was like, ‘No, let’s f— them off then.’ If they don’t want to treat us like a manager. Because they were just like going, ‘Oh, we know Frank and Jody would definitely want to come.’ And then they underplay the deal. It was a little bit more like, oh no, they felt like that they were doing us a favour.”
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After an unsuccessful tenure back at Stamford Bridge and a spell at Everton, Lampard has now landed at Coventry City, where he currently sits top of the Championship.
Lampard’s side were setting records earlier on this season, and are now bouncing back from a tough run of form to start 2026.
Promotion would see the boss set up a couple of meetings with Chelsea next season, as well as a return to Stamford Bridge.
Former players and managers don’t always get the best response when they return to West London, although Lampard will be a rare exception to that rule.
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