Chelsea: Should Lampard be given more time to succeed?
Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has urged Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to be 'patient' with under pressure boss Frank Lampard. The Blues have been on a poor run of form over the past month, winning just one of their last six Premier League games and the 3-1 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday saw reports emerge that Lampard's job was under threat.
However, Ancelotti, who was sacked by the Blues in 2011 just a year after winning the Premier League and the FA Cup, believes Abramovich needs to show "patience" with Lampard.
Ancelotti cited Juventus, who are currently fourth in Serie A, as an example of another club which carried out a lot of transfer business over the summer and struggled to meet expectations.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello sport, Ancelotti said: "They’ve bought a lot of players in the summer and in this case, like at Juventus, there needs to be patience, a rare commodity in football."
Former Chelsea midfielder Glenn Hoddle also believes Lampard "has to be given time", labelling the club a "work in progress".
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Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti weighs in on Roman Abramovich's Frank Lampard sack dilemma (Image: GETTY)
"One month ago everyone was asking whether I’d sign a new contract, now people will be saying different things because in quick succession over a tight busy period we’ve lost four games of football.
"So the pressure remains constant in this job and you know in tough moments that will be there. I didn't’t get into this job being unaware of that. My job is to keep working.
"My job is to try to lift the players who would have felt that in the first half. They would have felt the differences of City and their receiving of the ball and individual abilities to take the ball in tight areas.
"We are fighting to try to match those levels and I know it takes time."