Frank Lampard has denied speaking to Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, before he was appointed the club’s new head coach, ESPN reports.
The 41-year-old claimed that club director, Marina Granovskaia, led the recruitment process.
Chelsea unveiled Lampard to the media on Thursday, after securing him on a three-year contract from Derby County.
He replaces Maurizio Sarri, who left to take over at Juventus last month.
Lampard has had a long-standing relationship with Abramovich dating back to his 13-year stint as a Chelsea player, but now insists that he never spoke with the Russian before he returned to Stamford Bridge.
“I haven’t spoken to him at the minute. I have spoken a lot to Marina. We have spoken in detail and in depth because it is about how I want to work with the club and how they want me to work with them.
“I will be speaking with the owner in preseason. I know he is a busy man and I know he is a very private man and I respect that completely so it won’t be one where I come out explaining what has been said.
“I do think one of the benefits of me being here is that I don’t need huge amounts of conversation. The conversations I had with Marina were exactly as I expected. We want to be competitive, yes we want to bring young players through but that is something I should look to do anyway – it isn’t a major part of the conversation and we want to win.
“I felt that from the minute the owner came in years and years ago. I remember him landing at Harlington, coming and speaking to us and for me the landscape of the club changed in an instant because of the desire for excellence.
“A desire for excellence in training facilities at the time, standards on the pitch at the time and I don’t think the levels have dropped since then,” Lampard said.
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