HARRY STYLED

Lampard admits that his Uncle H is go-to guru for managerial tips

FRANK LAMPARD is keeping it in the family as he tries to save Everton from the drop.

The Goodison boss has admitted he is having regular chats with his uncle Harry Redknapp as he battles to keep the Toffees in the Premier League.

Redknapp, dad to Frank’s cousin, Jamie, was in his own relegation fight as Portsmouth boss in 2006.

Pompey looked doomed until they picked up six wins in nine matches to claw themselves to safety.

While nephew Frank clinched the Premier League title as Chelsea beat Manchester United 3-0 at Stamford Bridge a week before the end of that season, 200 miles away in Lancashire Redknapp was pulling off a miracle as Portsmouth beat Wigan 2-1.

And with phone chats to Uncle ’Arry, Lampard has been tapping into Redknapp’s experience of Portsmouth’s against-all-odds success as he plots his own great escape.

“I regularly speak to Harry. I have contact with him and will always speak to him no matter what the situation,” said Lampard, who today faces Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel, the manager who replaced him at Stamford Bridge 15 months ago.

Nuggets

“He is always a great voice of reason and experience and he has been in this situation before when he was at Portsmouth.

“But no, I’m not telling you what he says because it will be Harry told me to do this or that.

“Anyway it’s not that kind of advice. I chat to Harry casually and some things he says you think, ‘Yeah,of course.’

“For me, speaking to people like Harry you find the best things they say are really simple.

“And I’m not trying to put Harry down as it is the opposite, because the smartest managers always make things sound simple.

“I spoke to him about about taking the Everton and Chelsea jobs and I’ve asked him what he thinks about this situation where we have six games to go because he was there with Portsmouth.

“Those things are easy to bounce off him and you might get some nuggets from those chats. But, in terms of what the nuggets are, I’ll keep them to myself! It’s great to have him on the end of the phone, though.

“And I’ve also got people around me like, Paul Clement, who is on my staff and has been in this position before at Swansea.”

With six games left, the pressure is beginning to bite hard, with relegation rivals Burnley picking up big wins. But Lampard (above with Clement) admits he can’t get too wrapped up in the emotion being felt by nervous fans.

“I understand what is on it for the club and the fans here, so there is a real level of intensity for that. But I am the first one who has to stay calm and focused on it,” he added. “At the same time, when you are a manager and you want to do it right, it consumes you on all fronts. I put pressure of myself all the time, but that’s the person I am.

“My thoughts every day are about everything – the players, training, results, the staff, the fans – so it is absolutely a night and day job.

Pressure

“But I enjoy that side of it because I want to give everything to make it work.

“We understand how important it is for us to stay in the Premier League at so many levels. But no one gets a free ticket to stay in it.

“Yes, it’s pressure. But Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp now have to win every game. We have to win enough to stay up, so it’s a similar pressure for all of us.”