The newly appointed Blues boss will “demand” 100% effort from his new squad in the upcoming season, according to his uncle and former manager
Harry Redknapp claims his nephew Frank Lampard has a “special way about him” and has backed him to succeed as Chelsea‘s new permanent head coach.
The Blues officially announced Lampard’s return to the club on Thursday morning, after he signed a three-year contract to succeed Maurizio Sarri in the hot seat at Stamford Bridge.
The 41-year-old earned his stripes in management last season, guiding Derby to the Championship play-off final, which Aston Villa ultimately won 2-1 at Wembley.
Chelsea officials set their sights on a club legend shortly after Sarri’s departure for Juventus in mid-June and he now has a tough task to follow in the Italian’s footsteps.
The Blues finished the 2018-19 campaign third in the Premier League and managed to lift the Europa League trophy after a 4-1 final win over Arsenal in Baku.
Lampard won 11 major trophies in 13 seasons at the Bridge as a player and he is still the club’s all-time record scorer, with a whopping 211 goals to his name from midfield.
Redknapp, who managed the ex-England midfielder during the early years of his career at West Ham, feels he will give everything to get the best out of the current Chelsea squad next term.
“He has a special way about him,” Redknapp told Sky Sports News. “He is a very educated boy.
“He is the best trainer I have seen in all my years of football. I have never seen anyone work so hard on the training ground.
“I am sure you can ask Jose Mourinho, you can ask Claudio Ranieri, you can ask anybody who worked with him – he trained like nobody you have ever seen.
“He will expect the same level of effort and commitment from the players at Chelsea. He will demand it. If he gets that, then Chelsea are in for a great time.”
The 72-year-old former Tottenham and Portsmouth boss went on to reveal the small part he played in helping Lampard land his first role in management last year.
Redknapp recommended the one-time England international for the top job at Pride Park, during a phone call with Rams owner Mel Morris.
“A year ago, when Derby had lost their manager and I rang Mel Morris (Derby’s owner) and asked him who he was going to give the job to and he said an experienced manager,” Redknapp said.
“And I said ‘Mel, you keep picking managers and you are not doing very well at the moment.
“I said ‘take Frank Lampard’ and he said ‘no, I want experience’, so I said ‘take Frank Lampard! He will be a different class for you, he will bring so much to your football club – he is a special talent.’
“In the end, he listened and two months later, he is ringing me and saying ‘Harry, I am so glad I listened to you he is amazing.'”
Lampard’s first competitive fixture in charge at Chelsea will be against Manchester United at Old Trafford on August 11, before a UEFA Super Cup final encounter against Liverpool three days later.
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