Opponents at club level but colleagues internationally, it’s perhaps no surprise that Steven Gerrard has come out in defence of Frank Lampard who was sacked by Chelsea on Monday.
Under Roman Abramovich, the Blues have become renowned for being a hire ’em and fire ’em outfit, and even having Chelsea’s greatest ever goalscorer and midfielder at the helm made no difference.
As soon as results took a downturn, Lampard was toast, and Gerrard believes that such a scenario was always likely.
“[I’m] gutted for Frank, he’s an ex-friend of mine, someone I respect greatly,” he as quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror.
“Knowing the guy, he’ll be back before no time. He’ll dust himself down and he’ll get ready to get back involved.
“I think he’ll use this time to spend with his family, he’s obviously got a young family and one on the way.
“I’m disappointed for him. I thought it was a very swift exit on the back of a positive result at the weekend.
“But I don’t know the details, I don’t know how it’s been with him, the relationships that he’s had inside the club.
“But I did think it was an opportunity for Chelsea to reach out and support him during this tough period of results, rather do what they’ve done.
“But Chelsea have got a history for that, so it was no surprise.”
It was perhaps the right job at the wrong time for Lampard, who could do worse than follow former Liverpool legend, Gerrard, north of the border.
With Neil Lennon’s job at Celtic hanging by a thread, what better motivation for Lampard than going head to head with Gerrard in the Old Firm derbies and in the race for the title each season.
He proved his worth at Derby County and regardless if the Celtic job is for him or not, Lampard is unlikely to be out of the game for long.