George Elek, from Not the top 20 Podcast, was on Tuesday's OTB AM discussing Frank Lampard's potential as a Premier League manager.
Elek has been a fan of Lampard's performance at Derby but feels like their achievement wasn’t as impressive as many let on.
“It’s a tough one to really weigh up because Derby were amongst the favourites for promotion in the Championship and then there was Frank Lampard and the fans saying that’s definitely not our expectation at all.”
Lampard has been developing well as a manager to Elek but he also believes that it doesn’t mean the Chelsea legend is ready for the Premier League.
“They started very well in terms of results, the performances weren’t great and I think we’ve seen Lampard develop into a very good manager over the course of the season.”
“I mean, I personally think he is nowhere near ready for a Chelsea job. I think any Chelsea fans who want Maurizio Sarri to be replaced by Frank Lampard this summer for anything but sentimental reasons need to have another think.”
While the former Chelsea captain may not be ready for the Premier League, Elek thinks that he can become a quality Chelsea manager in the future.
“The fact is that Lampard could one day be a very good Chelsea manager and he’s learning his trade now at the right place that’s going to give him time and support. He’s going to continue to use his contacts to bring in very good loan players.”
One area which Elek thinks Lampard can improve is in team selection. After making the wrong choices for the starting team for the play-off, Elek thinks it could be a positive learning experience.
“I think again yesterday we saw him a little naive in his team selection playing both Huddlestone and Bradley Johnson in the midfield too. It was just a bit negative not starting Marriott or Waghorn or both, I mean, as soon as they came onto the pitch Derby were a completely different team, instead [he ended up] siding with Mason Bennet again as he did against Leeds.”
“So yesterday would have been a big learning curve for Lampard and one that’s going to make him stronger but no chance he’s ready for the Premier League at the moment.”
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
