Chelsea should not let their Lamp go out

FROZEN OUT ... stand-in skipper Frank Lampard will walk away from Chelsea as a free agent in the summer

KEVIN KEEGAN is baffled by Chelsea’s refusal to offer Frank Lampard a new contract.

As revealed by SunSport, the Blues have agreed a one-year extension with left-back Ashley Cole.

But midfield legend Lamps will be out in the cold come the summer — even if he breaks Bobby Tambling’s long-standing goalscoring record.

And former England boss Keegan claims Chelsea’s stance defies logic considering the 34-year-old’s contribution to the club’s success.

He said: “Like most people, I don’t get it. You begin to think there must be something else going on that we don’t know about.

“Lampard’s 34, so I certainly wouldn’t be giving him a three-year contract if I was manager.

BLUE IS THE COLOUR ... Lamps loves life at Chelsea

“But if he wanted a one-year rolling deal or something like that, for me it’s a no-brainer.

“Liverpool gave Steven Gerrard a long contract with a view to making him an ambassador for the club — and I think many people feel it should have been the same with Lampard at Chelsea.

“The clubs think differently, quite obviously, but people will be queuing up to sign Lampard.

“Make no mistake about it, no one is going to be offering him a three or four-year deal.

“The best way to do it is to give a one-year deal, then either the player or club can move on if they’re not happy.”

As confirmed by Lampard, Chelsea have not put a single offer on the table.

And Keegan insists he gave up trying to work out the method behind the London club’s madness some time ago.

BLUES LEGEND ... Bobby Tambling is Chelsea's record goalscorer

He added: “I don’t know what the situation is.

"I don’t know how long Lampard’s asking for, but I would certainly keep him around the club for 12 months on a good contract with good incentives.

“He’s been such a big part of Chelsea’s success and he’s closing in on Bobby Tambling’s record of 202 goals, which is great considering he’s a midfielder.

“It’s amazing, but it’s not the first time that things simply haven’t stacked up at Chelsea.

“You just can’t work it out and probably have to give up trying to make sense of it.”

Rafa Benitez has regularly handed the captain’s armband to Lamps in John Terry’s absence and clearly still believes the experienced star is worth having around.

But the fact Chelsea’s interim boss has made it clear he is powerless to intervene in the

TO BE FRANK, I CAN'T HELP YOU ... Rafa Benitez is powerless to stop Lampard leaving

He said: “This is a major thing for Chelsea and the manager is saying ‘it’s nothing to do with me’.

“In fairness, it probably isn’t anything to do with him due to the length of his contract. So who is it to do with?

“It’s a strange period for Chelsea but they’ve had this time and time again. People come in and you know they won’t be there for long, much like Avram Grant.

“Trying to work out Chelsea’s strategy for those of us who do punditry is impossible, as I’m sure it is for most of the fans.

“There simply doesn’t seem to be one and no one ever comes out to tell you otherwise.”