Frank Lampard has admitted that his relationship with Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is ‘less than ideal’.
Whilst there has been much speculation that there are divisions in the Chelsea camp and that Andre Villas-Boas does not have the backing of senior players, something AVB himself has alluded to, it is rather unprecedented for a player to come out and confirm that there are fractions in his relationship with the manager.
Despite being a fans’ favourite and having regularly performed well for Chelsea, and having scored regularly over the seasons, Frank Lampard has had to deal with being a bit-part player since Villas-Boas’ arrival. This has not sat well with the midfielder, nor has it with other senior squad members who have begun to question the late Sir Bobby Robson’s protege.
Villas-Boas meanwhile has accepted Lampard’s grievances at not playing regularly, but he has intimated that he does not see this as an issue. AVB is keen for his players to be hungry to play and he shrugged off Lampard’s grievances by stating that yesterday Romeu and Obi Mikel were themselves disappointed to be overlooked.
