Chelsea manager Frank Lampard had a tense and spiky exchange with a journalist at a press conference on Friday.
Asked a fairly innocent question by The Athletic's Liam Twomey, which referenced confidence being low in the Chelsea squad, Lampard delivered a pointed attack at the writer's articles this season.
"Well to be fair, I think their confidence would be shot if they were to read some of your pieces that you write at the minute," replied the Blues boss.
"Because some of the confirmation bias that you reflect on games with, it's like social media pundits to try and get a reaction in a negative way.
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"I read the pieces when we were doing well and they go both ways so I think for a journalist to be objective would be a start."
Lampard is feeling the pressure after a 2-0 defeat to Leicester left his struggling Chelsea side in eighth place in the Premier League, halfway through the season.
It's been a hugely disappointing campaign for the club which spent a record sum of over £200 million on transfers in 2020.
The former Chelsea player admitted in the same presser that his team had been "definitely slow and sluggish" in losing to Brendan Rodgers' Foxes. But Lampard is clearly taking a bullish approach with what he views as any media attacks.
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Asked by a different journalist about how he blocked out speculation around his job, the 42-year-old replied: "I don't listen to it.
"It's only everywhere if you want to scroll through social media or something, but I don't do that.
"I'm not stupid, I know the pressures that come with managing a top football club, but I just do my job, it doesn't matter to me."
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