Rafa prepares to curtail career of veteran pair

It is a good thing Rafael Benitez is only the 'interim manager' at Chelsea because as if one of the gossip stories coming out of Stamford Bridge is true, based on past precedent, he may well be gone by the end of the season regardless if he wins the League, the FA Cup, the Champions League and the Johnstone Paints' Trophy too.

For you see, Benitez has reportedly, according to the Daily Mail, said that Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard will most likely be out of the club next season when the pair's respective contracts run out.

Now, this kind of talk (among other things of course) saw Andre Villas-Boas shown the well-used exit door at Stamford Bridge so Rafa probably needs to tread carefully here as he may upset Chelsea supremo Roman Abramovich. Or is is Chelsea supremo John Terry?

Anyway, the Mail reports that when Benitez was asked if it was the end of an era for the Chelsea veteran pair, he replied that it may well be and it “he thinks it is the case at the moment” which is pretty much the same as him grabbing them by the scruff of the necks, given them a boot up the arse and throwing them out of the training ground door in tabloid world.

Welcome back to England Rafa!

Both Cole and Lampard's contracts run out at the end of the season and both are now entering the twilight of their careers with Lampard constantly linked with a move to the American semi-retirement soccer league, also known as the MLS.

Cole meanwhile has been linked with moves to Paris-Saint-Germain and Manchester United (somewhat bizarrely) but Benitez is thought to want to use the pair for the time being to stabilise the club.