Chelsea

Frank Lampard hails "brilliant" Jose Mourinho

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 03 April 2015

Frank Lampard insists that he holds no grudges against Jose Mourinho, despite the Portuguese essentially bringing his 13-year spell at Chelsea to an end last summer.

Frank Lampard has revealed how his former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho played a huge part in developing him into one of the most successful players in Premier League history.

Mourinho opted against offering the Blues legend a new contract last summer, bringing to an end his 13-year stay at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard has since linked up with title rivals Manchester City, a decision that he does not believe has tarnished his legacy at Chelsea, and the former England international insists that he holds no grudges against Mourinho.

"He is brilliant. If you wanted to bottle a manager and get all the good bits in it, he has got them," he told Channel 4. "I say that because he helped me in my career a huge amount.

"When he came I didn't have that self-confidence, I was 25, and he brought that out of me. And he does that with all the players he works with.

"He is very good at gauging a player and he knows if you need a [lecture] he will give it to you individually or as a team on a day but if you need a little bit of love and niceness he does that as well."

Lampard will join Major League Soccer side New York City FC once the Premier League season comes to a close next month.