The Rams boss and Blues legend spoke ahead of Monday night’s Championship trip to rivals Nottingham Forest.
Derby County’s form has tailed off in recent weeks, with such poor results as Wednesday night’s 1-0 loss to Millwall and the 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town threatening to derail their Championship playoff hopes.
The gap between the Rams and the top six is currently two points, but sixth-placed Bristol City have a game in hand, and with the season edging into the business end, they couldn’t have started stuttering at a worse time.
All in all, it’s a pretty bad time to be facing your bitter rivals on their patch in a Monday night televised game, as Derby will do when they head to the City Ground to face a Nottingham Forest side who will be desperate to get their own campaign back on track.
Bearing this in mind, it’s certainly not the time for the team’s manager to be linked with the job at the club where he spent the majority of his playing career, won multiple trophies and has a deep emotional connection – not to mention it’s one of the biggest jobs in English football.
But that’s exactly what’s happened, as reports have emerged that Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri is on very thin ice and Lampard is one of two names – the other being former Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane – linked with the Stamford Bridge hotseat (Sky Sports News).
On a positive note, Lampard did not seem fazed when asked about these rumours, telling the Derby Telegraph when asked if it had been a distraction: “No, not at all. My focus was absolutely on Millwall and will remain the same for Nottingham Forest.
“Nothing surprises me in football. There will be links all over the place. It doesn’t surprise me. I just have to focus on the job in hand here. I’m certainly not thinking about it, talking about it. It is what it is. I’m Derby manager, and we’re working hard every game here. I certainly am.”
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