FRANK LAMPARD is set to keep his caretaker role at Chelsea despite the looming presence of Mauricio Pochettino taking over as permanent boss.
Pochettino is deep into talks with the club and even though nothing is formally arranged, the former Tottenham manager is the runaway favourite to become the next head coach at troubled Stamford Bridge.
GettyFrank Lampard will stay on as Chelsea manager until the end of the season[/caption]
GettyMauricio Pochettino is in line to take over as permanent manager in the summer[/caption]
Even so, there are no plans at present to relieve Lampard of his duties after he signed a deal until the end of the season.
That means he will be in charge for the foreseeable future – starting with tomorrow night’s home clash with Brentford.
Lampard, 44, is eager to avoid a fifth straight defeat since taking over on a temporary basis earlier this month.
Pochettino is out of work since being sacked by French side Paris Saint-Germain last July so is free to take a new job at a moment’s notice.
But while negotiations are progressing well, there is still work to do before the Argentine is expected to become the fifth boss under controversial new Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly.
The American sacked Thomas Tuchel last September, appointed Graham Potter as his successor, ditched him and made coach Bruno Saltor interim boss before then turning to ex-Chelsea midfielder Lampard to bail out the team which is in tailspin.
They are 11th in the table and five points behind rivals Brentford ahead of the game at Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino has faced competition to become new manager from ex-Spain boss Luis Enrique and recently sacked Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann.
BETTING SPECIAL – BEST FOOTBALL BETTING SITES IN THE UK
But it is now widely expected that Pochettino will be offered the job in the coming days before taking up the position in the summer.