Frank Lampard expressed his disappointment at not being given time to succeed after being sacked by Chelsea, with former Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel set to take over at Stamford Bridge.
Lampard led Chelsea to a fourth-placed Premier League finish and the FA Cup final in his first season in charge.
However, he failed to match much greater expectations this season after the club spent a reported £220 million on new players in the summer transfer window.
A run of five defeats in their last eight Premier League matches has seen Chelsea slip to ninth, 11 points behind leaders Manchester United.
Sunday’s 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round win against Championship side Luton was not enough to save the former England midfielder.
The club said it had been a “very difficult decision” to part ways with their all-time record goalscorer, who won three league titles and the Champions League during his 13-year career as a player at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are aiming to have Tuchel, who was abruptly fired by French champions PSG in December, on the bench in time for the visit of Wolves on Wednesday.
