LAMPARD LOOKS THE PART
Despite crushing pain of play-off defeat by Villa...
On the eve of this £170million match Frank Lampard described his management career as ‘ahead of schedule’. A Wembley setting and football’s richest occasion to finish a campaign of remodeling and renovation certainly counted as that. The play-offs were a bonus.
Defeat does not undermine the impression he has made in just 12 months. He has carried the aura required of all good managers, been unafraid to speak his mind, chosen well in the transfer market, and made bold, effective selections and substitutions.
Whether that is enough to convince Roman Abramovich that Lampard is ready to succeed Maurizio Sarri we shall see.
Chelsea’s interest is genuine and there will be a vacancy if Sarri leaves for Juventus. It would be a break from past choices to pick a manager with only one season of experience but Lampard, with his 13 years and 11 trophies at Stamford Bridge, is a unique case. Whatever Chelsea’s intentions Lampard will hold talks with owner Mel Morris to ascertain the direction Derby are heading in.
Morris had to get creative to keep the club in line with EFL spending rules — he sold Pride Park to another of his companies for £80m and leased it back to record a £14.6m profit — and more delicate handling of the books is required this summer. Despite Morris’s £500m wealth, his benefaction is restricted and sales will need to happen before buys can be made.
Jayden Bogle, the 18-year- old right back given his debut by Lampard, is expected to attract interest. His header set up Martyn Waghorn’s goal with 10 minutes left here. Derby’s rally came too late. Lampard sent on Marriott and Waghorn at 2-0 down and they carried immediate threat. But time was too short.
It leaves the question over whether Lampard got his starting 11 wrong. He selected Tom Huddlestone to offer midfield protection and went for a diamond with Mason Bennett and Tom Lawrence up front.
It largely worked in the first half to shackle the influence of Jack Grealish and John McGinn but meant the danger Derby carried was not as potent as it could be.
Marriott was brilliant from the bench at Leeds so had been expected to start. Waghorn’s achilles injury meant the time he could play was reduced.
Lampard acted with conviction to try to turn it around and the character he has instilled in his players was apparent again. The question is how they pick themselves up from here. Morris
too, who has now experienced four play-off defeats in six years as supporter and owner.
Lampard said the immediate concern lay in his squad being reduced to 13, with loan players going back and others out of contract. Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Harry Wilson will return to parent clubs Chelsea and Liverpool, and Lampard conceded there was no guarantee they would return.
‘We need to compete with a squad that is 20 plus,’ Lampard said. ‘The landscape is different from the last three or four years because of money we’ve spent, financial fair play makes it hard for us. We are going to need to work on that to stay at the level we are and to try and push on.
‘Mel Morris has put a huge amount in over the years and those rules apply again. I’m not bemoaning it but it’s crucial to find out where we’re at because we need to make moves to plan for next year. I want to continue progressing with the club, it is important people understand that. I’m proud to work for this club, whatever the owner decides the financial position is, that is for me to work with. It is not for me to say yes or no.
‘There is work in recruitment big time for us to bring in players to keep the club moving forward. I have a two-year contract.’
He said reports about Chelsea’s interest were ‘irrelevant’, adding: ‘I’ve had no conversations with any other clubs.’