LAMPS INSPIRED TO BE A BOSS BY HIS PAL STEVIE G
FRANK LAMPARD is set to take over at Derby – admitting Steven Gerrard whetted his appetite to move into management.
England legend Lampard, 39, has held further talks with the Championship club and is now
expected to be confirmed as Derby’s new boss this week.
But Lampard admitted that it was seeing his former England team-mate Gerrard take over at Rangers which convinced him to become a manager rather than remain as a TV pundit.
Lampard turned down Oxford last year while Ipswich also made a move for him, but the Pride Park post came up after Gerrard made his first move into senior management at Ibrox.
When asked if Gerrard getting the Rangers job had given him a nudge, Lampard replied: “Well yeah, kind of.
“I am pleased for Steven, it is a good job. I haven’t really missed playing, I had a great career – 21 years that I couldn’t have dreamed of – but you miss the competitive side.
“It is something I think we all feel, Steven obviously felt it. He was working with Liverpool, he wanted to really work at the competitive edge that Rangers will certainly be.”
Lampard is poised to succeed Gary Rowett, who quit Derby for Stoke.
He has been tipped to be joined by ex-Chelsea team-mate Jody Morris (above), who has shone as a youth coach at Stamford Bridge.
But they will want reassurances on control and budget, while previous managers have struggled to work under Rams owner Mel Morris.