Frank Lampard defends Todd Boehly after Gary Lineker calls out speech

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has defended co-owner Todd Boehly for entering the Blues’ dressing room to give a speech to the players after their 2-1 defeat by Brighton at the weekend. The American was inside the Chelsea camp for a while after the dismal Premier League loss and supposedly dressed down the club’s under-performing stars. 

Despite the scepticism of Boehly’s behaviour within the media, interim head coach Lampard insists he has no problem with the joint-owner interacting with the players. The Stamford Bridge icon revealed he loved personal connections with owners during his career and compared criticism of Boehly’s hands-on approach to the derision over Roman Abramovich’s often shadowy ownership. 

He said: “I am comfortable with that. For me, there was maybe some criticism of our old owner (Abramovich) for not coming to the games and not being around. That wasn’t always true, to be fair. I know if an owner is very invested in their team and wants to help them improve, it’s their prerogative to have the input that they want. 

“I remember moments as a player of owners first coming into dressing rooms. It first happened for me at Chelsea and it had never really happened to me before. I remember being really happy that the owner was coming in – you could touch them, you could high-five them and feel them. 

“I don’t think it’s a thing in terms of the identity of the club and where you want to get to. I have no problem with it, from my point of view. I had my say after the game. If the owner wants to come in, wants to be positive and wants to speak to the players, then it’s absolutely his part to do that. 

“It can be very regular in the modern day. No problem. In fact, it shows passion and that’s the first thing that I like.”

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