Lampard was called in for a 9am Stamford Bridge summit

Frank Lampard was sacked by Chelsea during a 30-minute meeting at Stamford Bridge on Monday morning and was reportedly not allowed to say goodbye to his players.

The 42-year-old was on the way to the Blues' training ground in Cobham when owner Roman Abramovich called him in for a 9am meeting at Stamford Bridge, when he was informed of the club's decision to relieve him of his duties.

At the meeting was the club's sporting director Marina Granovskaia and Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck, with Lampard expecting to be sacked once the meeting was arranged.

Abramovich also explained his reasons to Lampard surrounding his dismissal, one of them being a poor run of form which showed no signs of improvement during the 3-1 FA Cup win over Luton Town on Sunday.

The meeting was said to be sombre and sad in tone, but Sky Sports claims that Lampard was not allowed back into the Chelsea training ground to say goodbye to his players, who saw their Monday training schedule delayed to the afternoon.

The Blues are currently on a run of just two wins in their last eight league games, with the west Londoners picking up five top-flight defeats since the middle of December.

Lampard left the club with Chelsea sitting in ninth place, five points off the top four and very much out of the title picture.

While Lampard brought in several academy players such as Mason Mount, Reece James and Billy Gilmour into the first-team picture, the inability to get expensive summer signings Timo Werner and Kai Havertz firing cost the Blues manager.

The Blues' latest league defeat saw them lose to Leicester City on Tuesday, leaving Chelsea owner Abramovich unimpressed with the recent form.

Lampard shook hands with his squad after the match at the King Power Stadium and thanked them for their efforts, implying a decision may have been made then.

In a club statement released on Monday, Chelsea criticised Lampard for lacking a 'clear path out of mid-table' but admitted it was a difficult decision to relieve the club's all-time goalscorer from his managerial job.

Abramovich added on Monday: 'This was a very difficult decision for the club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him.

'He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers.

'On behalf of everyone at the club, the board and personally, I would like to thank Frank for his work as head coach and wish him every success in the future.

'He is an important icon of this great club and his status here remains undiminished. He will always be warmly welcomed back at Stamford Bridge.'

Lampard is expected to be replaced by German coach Thomas Tuchel, who was sacked by Paris Saint-Germain in late December.