Lampard understands links with Chelsea's return

Frank Lampard downplayed the information suggesting that he would be a contender to Maurizio Sarri's successor if Chelsea's head coach was sacked.

Lampard is the top scorer for Chelsea. In 13 years, he has won all club honors as a player at Stamford Bridge. He impresses with his performance as a manager with Championship Derby.

Sarri's position could be threatened after Sunday's 6-0 loss to Manchester City, another former Lampard club, as the Blues slipped to sixth in the Premier League.

"We are working very hard and I am thinking of Ipswich Town on Wednesday and Brighton on Saturday."

Lampard has supported Chelsea "as a club" to be resilient and react to the humiliating defeat, their worst in the league for almost 28 years.

"But they will compete with an incredible team and I also spent time in Manchester City. I have feelings for them. The work done by Pep Guardiola and his incredible team is something special.

"It was a tough day for Chelsea. With all the best teams, the important thing is to come back strong, regardless of the type of defeat. What makes the best teams is resilience and Chelsea, as a club, has it.

Chelsea are now sixth in the Premier League, behind Arsenal, on goals scored, before a period that could be decisive for Sarri before the end of February.

Chelsea trained as scheduled on Monday, with players involved in Sunday's game taking part in a recovery session. There was also a team meeting, which is a regular event and not exceptional.

The Blues will face Malmo in the first leg of their first leg of the last 32 games of the Europa League on Thursday.

Manchester United will meet Stamford Bridge in the fifth round of the FA Cup next Monday, before returning with Malmo on February 21, and the final of the Carabao Cup with Manchester City at Wembley on February 24.

Chelsea will face Tottenham in the Premier League on 27 February.

The captain of Chelsea, Cesar Azpilicueta, called the hammering of City unacceptable and apologized to the fans.

N'Golo Kante said the defeat was "difficult to accept" and resulted from a "collective failure".

Defender Azpilicueta, who City striker Raheem Sterling conceded two goals, said on the club's website, chelseafc.com: "It's hard to find the words that describe my feeling after the game.

"It's one of the worst nights of my career. It's very frustrating, it's very disappointing.

"When we lose 6-0, everyone has to accept, they did not play well. The only thing I can say to the fans is sorry, because it's not acceptable, and I'm sorry for them all. "

They were in trouble after just four minutes on Sunday as Sterling opened the scoring. Sergio Aguero then offered a hat trick and Ilkay Gundogan also scored before Sterling completed the rout with his second goal.

It could have been worse for Chelsea as Aguero missed his first goalkeeper and also hit the bar.

Kante told chelseafc.com: "It's hard to explain. They upgraded us. It was a collective failure.

"It's a big disappointment and we have to react. We have a lot to learn from this and hope that we will not repeat the same mistakes in the future. "