Frankly Not - Lampard ‘In His Happy Place’ Amidst Links Back to Chelsea Post

Doug King Rubbishes Lampard to Chelsea Rumours

Coventry City owner Doug King has dismissed rumours linking Frank Lampard with a third managerial stint at Chelsea in the summer, stating that the former Blues midfielder has found his "happy place" at the club, and believes this will turn away any potential advances from Stamford Bridge over their vacant hot seat.

Chelsea sacked former Derby, Hull and Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior on Wednesday afternoon just a few months after taking the role in replacement of Enzo Maresca in January, after a run that saw the Blues lose five Premier League games in a row without scoring a single goal and exiting the Champions League, though the 41-year-old did start strong and guided Chelsea to a Wembley trip by way of the FA Cup semi-final.

"Chelsea is a big part of my life"

Frank Lampard on being linked to Chelsea after the club sacked Liam Rosenior 🗣️#SkySportsFC pic.twitter.com/nSfGiswOuV

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 24, 2026

Lampard has already had two spells as head coach at Stamford Bridge and has recovered from a poor interim spell in the 2022-23 campaign at Coventry where he masterminded a first promotion to the top flight in 25 years last week.

Lampard has already had two stints as head coach in West London, and has turned his managerial credentials around following a horrid interim spell with the club in 2023, replacing Graham Potter and taking the job until the end of the season. He has guided Coventry City back into the Premier League after a 25-year absence this season, and won his first trophy as a manager by wrapping up the Championship title with a 5-1 over Portsmouth on Tuesday night.

King: Lampard has "Found Happy Place"

"He's done a fantastic job, it's been an incredible 18 months for us and for him," King told the BBC recently.

"I'm sure he's in reflective mode. I said to him: 'Do not underestimate how difficult what you've just achieved is to do.'

"He's done huge things in his playing career but to get out of this league as champions without a parachute payment, from where we've come from, is a huge achievement nobody can take away from him.

🚨✨ Coventry City are back in Premier League! Excellent job by Frank Lampard.

After 25 years, Coventry return in PL. pic.twitter.com/Lwj83bFTHR

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 17, 2026

"Everybody is going to get linked with everything, it's a merry-go-round. It's a bit disappointing clubs are appointing three or four managers a season.

"You can see how emotionally connected [Lampard] is with the city, you can see what it meant to him to get promotion and then the title and I think he's found a happy place at the moment.

"It doesn't mean there's not going to be some staggering bid for him in the summer and he'll have to make his choices, because he's shown his credentials as a high-quality head coach, but I'm not going to comment on that, I can't control it.

"I just think he's happy, I'm happy, everybody's happy, we've just got smiles on our faces and we don't worry about what may or may not happen for the head coach."

Lampard Guides Coventry to Immortal Promotion

Frank Lampard got his managerial career started in the EFL Championship in 2018, managing Derby County to a playoff final at Wembley where they missed out on a Premier League return thanks to Aston Villa. He would take on his first stint with Chelsea in 2019 and guided a youthful, transfer-banned and Eden Hazard-less squad to Champions League qualification against the odds, but was dismissed after a poor run of form the following season.

Coventry City fans: "We've got super Franky Lampard, he knows exactly what we need…" 🎶💙 pic.twitter.com/L4UHt0ruTe

— Goals Side (@goalsside) April 24, 2026

After a spell with Everton, where he won the admiration of the Toffees after helping them to Premier League survival but was dismissed again following a downturn in results, he took on an 11-game caretaker role back with Chelsea at the end of the 2022/23 season, losing eight of these matches before his exit.

After a year-and-a-half out, Lampard was hired to replace Mark Robins at Coventry City and took the Sky Blues to the playoffs last season, where they lost to eventual winners Sunderland in dramatic circumstances. The playoffs weren't needed in the West Midlands this time around, though, with Coventry getting 10 points clear of Ipswich with only nine to play for to wrap up the Championship title and deliver a Premier League return.