Breaking: Lampard breaks silence on Pochettino to Chelsea amid crucial talks

Frank Lampard has been speaking to the press ahead of Chelsea's match with Brentford with the questions largely about the Blues' search for a permanent head coach

Frank Lampard is refusing to get involved in any speculation linking Mauricio Pochettino to Chelsea.

Lampard, who is interim charge of Chelsea until the end of the season, is preparing his squad for the trip of Brentford on Wednesday evening, but his pre-match press conference was inevitably dominated by questions regarding Pochettino. The interim Blues boss didn't have too much to add on the matter, as he refused to be drawn on speculation.

"I'm not going to get involved in any future manager talk," Lampard said to reporters. "It's all speculation like you say, it's simple as that."

It's understood Pochettino is now the clear front-runner for the job after positive talks with the club. Both parties are keen for the appointment to take place, with the Argentine out of a job since leaving Paris Saint-Germain in 2022.

Any deal for Pochettino to take charge will not impact Lampard and Chelsea's end to the season. The caretaker head coach will take charge of the side for the remaining seven matches of the season, starting on Wednesday evening against Brentford.

The Blues are in 11th place in the Premier League table and are now out of the Champions League. There are 20 points between Chelsea and the top four and they sit 11 above the relegation zone, so there doesn't look as if there is much more to play for, but that's now how Lampard sees it.

"I don't have a mentality that there's nothing to play for," he said. "You won't compete absolutely every season. It comes down to personal pride and responsibility. The run-in is really tough, so my interest is to see how the players react to that."