Lamps: Seeing the boss in his office usually meant trouble.. but I always felt I would return to be in the manager’s chair one day

than others. “There was no ‘ding’ moment for me,” he said. “Lots of managers influenced me – Jose Mourinho for the selfconfidence he gave me.” Both Mourinho and another ex-Chelsea manager, Guus Hiddink, have sent texts of encouragement, and he is still in touch with Ancelotti. “When you become a manager, you realise it is not that simple,” he said. “I try to learn myself. If I ever felt the need to reach out, I would, but we all have to find our own way.”

Unable to sign players, due to Chelsea’s transfer ban, his task this season is stark and simple. Use the squad he has, plus youngsters, get in the top four – and try to bridge the 26point gap to Manchester City. Lampard feels the year he spent at City, after leaving Chelsea in 2014, was useful in giving him a comparison. He added: “There is a correlation about what Chelsea did in 2003 to what City have done. Both changed the landscape. I saw two clubs hungry to be winners. “City have done that and, particularly in the Pep Guardiola period, we have seen a performance level that rivals any era.

“At City, I got what I felt at Chelsea – a club that had a new drive from the top. It allowed me to see another idea, the way they wanted to drive.

“There was a gap between them and us. The only way to change that gap is absolute hard work and focus on what we do. Actually, the transfer ban gives us more clarity. We can’t bring in players. “Can we win the league? It’s a big ask. But we have to set out with that mindset.”