Former Premier League managers Frank Lampard and Dean Smith are battling over the Charlotte FC job in MLS. Both of the managers have been out of work since the end of the 2022/23 Premier League season.
Lampard was temporarily back in charge of his beloved Chelsea at the back end of last season following Graham Potter’s sacking, while Smith was unable to stop Leicester City from dropping into the Championship following a nine-year say in the top flight of English football.
According to The Athletic, Lampard and Smith are among the final candidates for Charlotte FC’s head coaching vacancy that became open following Christian Lattanzio’s sacking. Lattanzio lost his position following the 5-2 Eastern Conference Wild Card playoff defeat to the New York Red Bulls at the end of October.
MLS is not unfamiliar territory for Lampard, who spent a year at New York City FC in 2015-16. It also happened to be where he drew the curtain over his legendary career. Charlotte isn’t the only team linked to Lampard, with Championship sides Sunderland and Bristol City linked to the ex-England midfielder in recent weeks.
Lampard has always maintained that he will choose his next managerial role carefully, after having a tough time in his last permanent job at Everton. “It could come out like I’m being ultra-selective and I think the reality is a lot of jobs are challenging at this level,” Lampard said following his departure from Chelsea in the summer.
“It’s trying to find a project, a club, that is aligned with where you want to take the team and style and the club. When I came here I certainly took it on with a lot of heart and understanding that it was short term.
“But I don’t want to be an interim manager in my next job. I’d actually like to be able to work in something that feels like it has an opportunity to go the way I want it to go and I’m very aware of what that way is.
“I don’t want to sound too picky about it. Those challenges I’ve had have sometimes been big challenges but that’s what life’s about. I’m fortunate to say I’ve managed Chelsea twice. Everton are a huge club. Derby are a huge club. But maybe I will think in a different way when I move on.”
Don’t miss…
Mauricio Pochettino not worried ‘painful experience’ is spurring on Erik ten Hag[LATEST]
Liverpool predicted XI v Sheff Utd as Jurgen Klopp deals with sixth injury[LATEST]
Chelsea predicted XI vs Man Utd as Cole Palmer handed new role[LATEST]
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
Smith, meanwhile, was in charge of the Foxes for a short time last season, as the 2015-16 Premier League champions battled for survival. Leicester were ultimately relegated alongside Smith’s former Club, Norwich, and he departed in the summer. Smith also had a long-term position at Aston Villa but he was replaced by Steven Gerrard in 2021.
Charlotte is nearing an end to its interview process and a new head coach is expected to be in place by late December, with pre-season due to start in the New Year. The 2023 MLS campaign will be concluded this Saturday, with LAFC looking to defend their MLS Cup against Colombus Crew at Lower.com Field.
Source: Read Full Article