Richard Buxton: Frank Lampard’s cult status to be put to the test

For better and worse, appointing largely inexperienced former players is back in vogue.

Frank Lampard will experience both sides of that coin if, as expected, he is appointed Chelsea’s new manager.

Taking the reins at his old club is an ambition that the 40-yearold has long harboured.

Barely 12 months into a spell in charge at Derby County, that wish looks set to be granted.

Lampard’s appointment as Maurizio Sarri’s successor at Stamford Bridge ticks all the boxes and brings a degree of familiarity and warmth that the Blues’ fan base desperately craves.

 The legendary midfielder, who is aided by his ex-Chelsea teammate and now trusted assistant Jody Morris, has developed his own tactical style with an emphasis on youth development, bringing hope that good times could soon return to the Blues.

A mini dressing-room reunion adds to the feel-good factor, with Petr Cech’s arrival as technical director being married with Morris and Didier Drogba’s reintegration into the coaching fold.

When a former fan favourite – Roberto di Matteo – breezed into the manager’s office, the Blues finally fulfilled a near decade-long quest to win the Champions League.

Given the manner in which he was cast aside, however, the Italian might remember events somewhat differently.

He then became one of eight permanent managers who were deposed by owner Roman Abramovich almost as quickly as they were appointed during Lampard’s 13 years at Chelsea.

That the absentee Russian oligarch is again taking an active role in hiring one of his former charges is significant.

Last season saw Abramovich effectively down tools on Chelsea; halting a planned expansion of the stadium and stopping payments on a personal hospitality box.

Sarri is a rarity in Chelsea’s long list of managerial casualties. The Italian, who has joined Juventus, is one of the few to emerge from the continuing cauldron of impatience with both his reputation and psyche still intact.

But the disconnect ran deep. The Shed never took to the detached approach of “Sarriball” and he simply became another flavour-of-the-month coach that went predictably wrong.

Only Jose Mourinho enjoyed a better win ratio than the chainsmoking Sarri in his own debut season.

Barring a late change of heart from either side, Lampard will make his EPL managerial debut in August at the same age as his former manager.

That is also when his status as a Chelsea legend will be tested to its limit.

Without Eden Hazard and facing up to a Fifa-imposed transfer ban, those that once idolised Lampard might be quick to point out his West Ham United roots and a short-lived playing stint with Manchester City when, rather than if, on-field matters invariably begin to turn sour quickly.

The two-window embargo may actually work in Lampard’s favour with Abramovich’s pledge of a grace period that would feasibly render him untouchable until at least the 2020/21 season.

Except Chelsea are not a club that can be taken at their word.

They have regularly chewed up and spat out more esteemed and astute coaches than the current incoming rookie.

Nostalgia alone will take Lampard only so far in the face of such scrutiny and myriad difficult decisions.

Ruthlessness might be required in settling the longterm future of former teammates such as David Luiz, who recently signed a new deal until 2021.

Streamlining an extensive loan army from which he and Derby were key beneficiaries, drafting in Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori to aid their run to last season’s Championship play-off final, will be another item high up on Lampard’s to-do list.

He must also contend with a new benchmark in standards, with Chelsea finishing 26 and 25 points adrift of City and Liverpool respectively in fiercely contested English Premier League title race that surpassed all others.

Patience is a virtue which Abramovich has rarely afforded Lampard’s predecessors.

Any preferential treatment granted to the latest incumbent is likely to be similarly shortlived.