In contrast to the curtain coming down on his playing days at the club, and then the end of his original spell as our head coach, on this occasion it is known in advance that a chapter in the Chelsea legend’s career is reaching its conclusion.

That could mean the chance for farewells between Frank Lampard and the fans at Stamford Bridge where we take on Newcastle United, but he does not quite see it that way.

‘This may sound corny but I don’t feel like it is a goodbye,’ Lampard says. ‘I’ll appreciate it, and it will be the end of the season and the end of my small time back, and I didn’t have that [a chance to interact with the supporters] before because it was Covid. But normally when you leave a club you don’t have a big hurrah as a manager, you are in one day and you are out the next and that is fine.

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‘This is the corny part but I will never feel like I am saying goodbye to the fans because my career as a player, a coach the first time around, and now this period is there. I live close enough to the stadium and I will be back at Chelsea many times.’

Lampard says he is calm in the knowledge that when he embarked on a managerial career it did not mean that he would be forever at the club he graced for 13 years as a player.

‘I am not too nostalgic about it,’ he adds, ‘but I certainly do appreciate the fans’ support and I will appreciate it on Sunday. But more than anything I would love to give them a performance they can take away to the summer and feel a bit more positive about.’