Lamps: Get the drinks in, boys ...you’re paying!

FRANK LAMPARD will be asking his players to foot the bar bill if Derby County reach the Premier League.

The Rams manager was happy to stump up over £2,800 for celebratory drinks after his side created history by beating Leeds United in the semi-final to secure their berth in tomorrow’s Championship play-off final.

The jubilant Rams stopped off at a pub en route back to the East Midlands following their triumph at Elland Road.

But Lampard says i f Villa are vanquished, this time his first-team squad better put their hands in their pockets.

Lampard said: “I’m going to let the boys split it next time!

“That bar bill was funny, y, we had quite a few people from the club there.

“If I had sneaked off without paying the bill, it wouldn’t have been right, would it?

“The club owner was there. But he shouldn’t have to pay it. The lads get decent bonuses if we win, so they can sort it out. ut.

“Seriously, players should sho ld celebrate in their moment. People were talking about what it meant all week. They deserved it. But we were very quickly back down-to-earth.

“Over-celebration is bad too, and we had to realise very quickly that we had a final to prepare for.”

Lampard himself struggled to keep his emotions in check after Derby became the first club to lose at home in the Championship play-offs semi-final, but still go on to qualify for the final.

He said: “Maybe winning the Champions League with Chelsea was on a par. I remember feeling particularly emotional then too, because that was 10 years of us trying to win it.

“Having lost the first game to Leeds, and the preparation myself and Jody Morris did, we gave everything for that game at Elland Road. I felt massively emotional afterwards.

“I saw Mauricio Pochettino crying on the pitch a couple of weeks before, and I completely got it. I didn’t quite cry. But I understood it. The moment got to me.”

Lampard has vast experience of playing at Wembley. And just as much experience of winning there.

But plenty will rest on the shoulders of Derby youngsters like Mason Mount (below) and Harry Wilson if the Rams are to pg progress.

Lam Lampard added: “Finals can be t tough. Most of the ones Ip I played in were a blur, but t the magic of Wembley is clear as you drive up to it.

“The players will know then – if they d don’t already – what’s ab about to hit them.

“I “It’s the size of the stadium, it it’s the sight of so many fans.

“It’s the feeling, the buzz when you get there. The way your belly will turn over when you get there.

“That stayed with me many times. It doesn’t go away with the number of games you play. Every player has to find a way to manage it. It’s different for everyone.

“What you do need is absolute concentration. If you don’t have that, you are in danger of coming away a loser – and no one wants that feeling. It’s horrible.”