Bullish Frank Lampard lifts Chelsea mood but knows he will get no favours | Dominic Fifield


Former midfielder returns as manager with the express aim of making the club more competitive in the league

The buzzword was realism, a theme maintained whether Frank Lampard was raising the new Chelsea shirt to the pop of the flashbulbs in a cluttered suite high in Stamford Bridge’s west stand, or had retired to the directors’ lounge for a marginally more intimate assessment of what awaits as the club’s head coach. And yet, even with the star player sold and a transfer ban blocking significant incoming business, it rapidly became clear the new man is not one to flee from expectation.

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