Ant’s glow for Lamp
FRANK LAMPARD reckons Antonio Conte is the perfect taskmaster to “batter” his old Chelsea side out of their malaise from last season.
The Blues have made an impressive start to life under their new Italian boss.
He has guided them to four straight wins, after opening with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over West Ham.
Chelsea’s form has eased painful memories of last season when Jose Mourinho was axed after a dire start to their title defence.
And Lampard’s New York City FC team-mate Andrea Pirlo, who played for Conte, gave the new Blues chief a glowing reference.
Lampard said: “I spoke to Pirlo about him as soon as I could. Obviously, I am interested in Chelsea and he spoke very highly of him – a taskmaster who works very hard in training.
“Conte is very organised and batters away at the way he wants his team to play with his own personality and the shape he wants to play.
“Physically I thought they didn’t look as sharp last term and the game was too slow. Now, they want to press and play quicker with pace. I love seeing that.”