• Midfielder told ex-manager he was unhappy at being dropped • Portuguese thanked Lampard by text after exit

Frank Lampard believes André Villas-Boas spent too much time focusing on the future of Chelsea and lost sight of the present. Villas-Boas was sacked this month following a run of poor results, and his fractious relationship with some senior players was one of the factors behind his downfall.

As one of the older players who lost his automatic first-team place as Villas-Boas looked to refresh the side, Lampard admitted his relationship with the Portuguese was difficult.

The 33-year-old told the Sun Sunday: "His plan was long term. But somewhere in the middle of that, the present didn't go so well – and that's where the problems came.

"To be fair to AVB, that was part of the remit and I get that we need to move on and change. But you can't lose sight of the present."

Lampard and Ashley Cole were left out of the side for the first leg of their Champions League tie against Napoli, which they lost 3-1 in Italy.

Lampard said he had told Villas-Boas what he thought of that decision, adding: "I wasn't disrespectful. I just told him I thought I should be playing."

"I told him what I felt and he had no problem with me saying it. I wasn't making a stand. The fact we might not have seen eye to eye was irrelevant to me."

Lampard revealed he had sent a text to Villas-Boas after his departure and received a reply. "He thanked me for being a top professional, which I appreciated," Lampard said. "A lot of people think the players didn't play for him or respond. We did but it just didn't work out."