Frank Lampard jokingly says Chelsea will be 'someone else's problem' after Sunday's season finale

Frank Lampard jokingly insists Chelsea is someone else’s problem after Sunday’s end of season finale but the Stamford Bridge legend is still determined to finally give fans something to smile about.

The beleaguered caretaker will bring an end to his disastrous short-term reign when his side hosts Newcastle.

Lampard insists it will not feel like a complete good bye to his adoring fans, who have stuck by him during a run of one win and eight defeats in 10 games.

But, despite that spell - and Chelsea’s worst league finish since 1996 - Lampard refused to be drawn on whether his new permanent successor, still expected to be Mauricio Pochettino, has the hardest job of any Blues boss in over two decades.

“I don’t know. It’s a good headline but I don’t know, it remains to be seen,” said Lampard.

“I can’t jump into the future. I think it is a fantastic job because it is the Chelsea job and when I took it the first time I came, I probably got the job because a lot of top managers didn’t want the job. I know that for a fact. That was a big part of it.

“But I enjoyed the process and I enjoyed coming in and I wish the new manager well. I don’t know. It’s his problem.”

Despite watching their club’s worst season this century, Chelsea fans have stood by Lampard, chanting his name repeatedly during Thursday’s 4-1 loss at Manchester United.

That has left Lampard, now ending his second spell in charge, grateful for the backing, although he insists the Newcastle game will not feel like a final farewell for him.

“I don’t want this to sound corny but I don’t feel like it is a goodbye,” said Lampard.

“I appreciate it, it will be the end of the season and the end of my small time back.

“And I didn’t have that farewell before because it was Covid, but normally when you leave a club you don’t have a big hurrah as a manager. You’re in one day and you’re out the next and that’s fine.

“It doesn’t feel odd to me and - this is the corny part - I will never feel like I am saying goodbye to the fans.

“My career as a player and as a coach, the first time around and in this period, it’s there.

“I live close enough to the stadium and I will be back at Chelsea many times. When you take on a managerial career, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be at a club you had 13 years at as a player forever.

“I’m quite calm about that, not too nostalgic but I certainly appreciate the fans’ support and I will appreciate it on Sunday.

“But more than anything, I would love to give them a performance to take away for the summer and eel a bit more positive about.”

Mason Mount, who may have played his last game for the club due to an on-going contract impasse, is unlikely to play due to a pelvic injury.