‘I WANTED TO STAY BLUE’

FRANK LAMPARD revealed that he never wanted to leave Chelsea, but has not ruled out returning to manage them.

The rookie Derby boss takes his exciting young team to Stamford Bridge in the League Cup tonight. He was shown the door when his contract was not renewed in 2014, but Lampard, 40, said: “I was a Chelsea man and if I had had my way at that point I would have stayed at Chelsea until the end of my career. It was Chelsea’s choice to move on and I respect that.”

Asked about a managerial return to the Blues, he said: “To dream of those things is one thing, but in reality it relies on what I do here. I’m pragmatic. I don’t see anything beyond Chelsea away. In football, only your next game is important.”