Frank Lampard says the chaos currently surrounding Chelsea would not stop him from signing for the club if he was still playing.
Chelsea have endured a miserable season but will be looking to finish the campaign on a relative high after ending a run of six straight defeats under Lampard with a 3-1 win at Bournemouth last Saturday.
The victory on the south coast was their first since March 11 when Graham Potter was still in charge and ended a wretched streak that had seen the team score only four times in nine games.
Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League table with four matches remaining but speaking ahead of Saturday’s visit of Nottingham Forest, Lampard insists there are “fantastic intentions” to move the club forward.
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The Blues boss was asked in his pre-match press conference: “From the outside, Chelsea looks a mess. If you were a big-name player now, at the top of your game, would you sign?”
Lampard was categorical. “Absolutely I would sign for Chelsea,” he said. “There are a lot of great things about this club. ‘Form is temporary, quality is permanent’ is a good saying.
“I can see fantastic intentions to take the club forward. A lot of big clubs go through this process in some way, shape or form, and the more successful you’ve been, the more headlines it gets when you come to that moment.
“As an individual player definitely I would come here because it’s an incredible club. Sometimes it’s nice to be part of the process that takes a club where you want it to go. I think that’s an enticing thing as well. Rather than being parachuted in to somewhere that’s successful.”
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Lampard likened the current situation to when he decided to first join Chelsea from West Ham in 2001.
“I signed when we were a top-six or top-eight team, and little did I know that I’d come out of it with trophies and medals all over the place.
“I was part of a huge process that saw this club grow into the most successful club in the modern era of the Premier League.
“This is a huge football club. No matter what happens in the next six months or two years or three years, this is always going to be a successful football club. I absolutely believe that.”
Saturday’s game against Forest will be a chance to end a run of six home matches without a win in all competitions, with Chelsea having not tasted success at Stamford Bridge since beating Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on March 7.
“If (home) form has not been great since I’ve been here and preceding that, it’s very normal and human that can build up some nervousness amongst players and staff,” said Lampard.
“The only way through that is to dig in and try and do the right things. I’ve been there as a player. That’s what the players have to do, simple as that.
“The crowd will go with them and with that you can become a bit of a force. We’re obviously striving for that.”
Follow live updates of Chelsea’s game against Nottingham Forest across Sky Sports’ digital platforms on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.
Chelsea’s remaining fixtures
May 13: Nottingham Forest (H) – Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 21: Manchester City (A) – Premier League, kick-off 4pm
May 25: Manchester United (A) – Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports
May 28: Newcastle (H) – Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm