Frank Lampards första första presskonferens

Här är ordagrant vad Frank Lampard sade i sin första presskonferens som Head Coach för en av världens mest framgångsrika klubbar de senaste femton åren.

Did it take seconds and minutes to decide on taking the job?

"Not seconds and minutes, because I think it is important that I was fortunate enough to get a really good opportunity last year with Derby and I am very thankful for the opportunity. Mel Morris first and foremost, but for the whole club. The staff, fans, players that were there that welcomed me. It wasn’t an easy decision in that department, because we had a really good year and I enjoyed. I guess the reason the decision, wasn’t minutes and second, but pretty quick was that it was this club. This is the one club that made the decision, not easy, but a club that I have played with for 13 years and probably don’t have to sit here all afternoon and tell you how much I feel about it.
    "The possibility and the opportunity to manage here, having played here, having felt the club, to manage this place, this club, these fans, these players, was huge. Was huge."

Are you apprehensive?

"I think apprehension is the wrong word. I am very aware of what the job of this size means in football, having played here I felt the pressure was high because of expectations and the pressure I put on myself. Having been a manager for one year at Derby I realised on this side of the fence the pressure is a lot more, whatever club you are at.

"Of course, when you come to a club like Chelsea, who have expectation, who have standards, who are competitive year in and year out, I understand that and I can’t run away from that. I wouldn’t say I am apprehensive, I am a realist, I understand what is wanted from me from within the club. I will try to deliver."

The first game here, atmosphere electric? 

"Yeah I am [looking forward to it], and when I came back with Derby it was surreal to have that moment as an opposition manager, but to have the support I had from the fans was incredible and emotional. I really, really appreciated it. Now I am here of course, I don’t want to dwell on emotions too much. Any manager or any player has that feeling when the fans sing, or when they appreciate you, so I am looking forward to Leicester.

"There is a lot of time and a lot of work to do to prepare for it. When that comes around it will be a special moment, but more than anything we want to win that game."

Do you have the experience that is needed?

"I presumed that question would come quite early and I would say that I have thought about it a lot because I know that it is an obvious question and I understand it. With one year in professional management and to get the Chelsea job doesn’t come around very often. I think football is littered with stories of inexperienced managers who do really really well, some spectacularly well, and some that don’t, then some experience managers who do really, really well and some that don’t.

"I think really I am not going before that I am worried about this and that. In my playing career I have played under a lot of managers, fantastic managers, things I have learned along the way, tried to mould to be myself and I think that will hold me in good stead. I have had one year at Derby where I think I have learned a lot and I think I know a lot about this club and how it works. I have to prove that. Simple as that. People will question that, I am ready for that. Completely. I believe in myself completely and I want to show that I am ready to manage this club with one year experience or ten years’ experience. What will define me and my time here will be my work ethic and what I put into it to try to bring success."

The dream job?

"Lovely headline that one. I think I answered that with the first question when I was asked how long it took me to take the job. Of course everyone knows my links to the club. I don’t want to say it is my dream job, I don’t have to give it a name or a title, but I love this club and I want to do my best. If we are successful then you can ask me at the end."

What is the club expecting from you?

"I played here for many years and I know there are standards. There is a baseline of definitely being competitive and I was fortunate to be there in an era of the club when we were competitive and to stay competitive in the Premier League is a big ask because we know it is the most competitive league in the world. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be there or thereabouts because I feel that expectation, quite rightly, is to remain competitive.

"Of course, there are variables at the moment. We know about the transfer ban, we know about Manchester City and Liverpool pulled away slightly last year. I think we have to be realistic about that, but we should never stop trying as Chelsea to be up there and I think we should be. I will work to be there. I don’t want to proclaim that we will do this and that, but my instinct was to come to this job and my instinct from Chelsea and from above will always be that we have to be competitive and look to start the season looking to win."

Disappointed to see Hazard leave and need to replace him?

"I think Eden Hazard, from the outside it seemed like something that was really important to Eden personally. The club respected that and the fans respected that and he left on a very good note. As a Chelsea fans and having played with him, I felt he give this club such pleasure and great times individually in his input. We were thankful that he was here. It is not one to dwell on now, he has gone, we wish him well in his career. He is a great person as well as a great player and we wish him well.

"But now it is important about what we do and it is about how to take the club forward. You lose one great player, of course, but then how do you get around that? You work on the team and the squad we have is already a very strong squad. We have a lot of young players, who are at a really good age who have, not just potential as they have already shown it in the first team, but have the talent, not to fill Hazard’s boots as he is very unique, but we have players in their own way who can be huge players for this club. Some who already are huge players and some who can get even better. My job is to get that out of them and make them even better."

Have you spoken to the board about targets?

"I haven’t. The word realist keeps coming up and I am a realist and I don’t want favours going into something. That is not the way I work. We seem very focused at Chelsea on managers and change and the Premier League and around the world and you want to be successful. You can judge success on different levels. All I can do is not get too far ahead of myself and work hard with what I have. I mentioned on one hand to work with young players and that will really important and one one of my first jobs to do, and I will do it throughout my time. But at the same time I want to work with the experienced players, the ones who have been around a long time and feel the club.

"I want players, whether you are 18 years of age or 32 years of age, this is your club and you are not just passing through Chelsea into something else. I want people who want to be here. I played at Cheslea with fantastic players, not just John Terry who was Mr Chelsea, but Drogba and Cech, people who came to the club and felt the club. My idea is not just to think about working with 18 or 32 year olds, my idea is to work with the best players, squad, to get the best out of them and be as competitive as we can be."

What’s success in first season?

"It’s a really difficult question. We have to start with an intention to win and if I didn't say that I don't think I should be here because that’s how it has to be.

"Do we want to be playing Champions League football year in, year out? Yes for sure, and that is something that should drive us all on – myself and the players included."

"I can’t sit here and say what it is because there are a number of factors this year. Yes we want to develop players and we want to be competitive, I am not going to start suggesting league position."

Is the squad deep enough to qualify for the CL/Top 4

"Yes we do, yes we do for sure. There is a lot of competition at the top of the league but we can lose sight. We talk about losing Eden Hazard, one of the greatest players in the world, yes we can understand that, but at the same time we have a very strong squad of players, I don’t want to talk down this squad. It is a hugely talented team that managed to come third in the Premier League and win the Europa League. We haven’t been decimated, we haven’t lost players everywhere, we still have a very strong squad.

"My job is now to push on and be successful successful."

Problem Sarri and his disconnect with the fans – bounce/nickname??

"In terms of the bounce, that was something that was very Derby. Things start again, I am not going to ask for anything and in terms of a name I am not going to ask for one.

"Self proclaimed names and nicknames are not my style."

Would you say this is the biggest challenge of your career?

"Yes, yes I would. Because my playing career is done, great memories and great challenges along the way and I always loved a challenge.

"Coming here 19 years ago was a challenge. I remember driving home and had the radio on and some people were  questioning whether I should be here for £11m.

"I worked really hard to put that right as a player and now I am in a position where I have to work really hard to be successful as a manager here.

"When I started out in management one year ago I thought that was a challenge, because you have to start again.I don't want credit for my playing career

"I think that it will last five minutes and I understand that should last five minutes because I should be judged on what I do here and what I do going forward."

Have club said to you top four is what you need?

"No they haven’t said that and I don’t think they need to say that. It is very clear that we are a club that generally, barring a couple of season in recent years, are a club that has managed to be top four or winning titles.

"One of the benefits is I know the club. I understand what is expected so it was not even a conversation that I needed to have."

Worried the 'Super Frank' tag might get tarnished?

“I’m not. I understand fans want success, my playing career is gone. If I wanted to go away for the rest of my life, look back on my career and protect it, I could have done that. I didn’t want that.  I don't see it as a risk, I am the type of personality that loves challenges, I don’t fear the challenge, I am not fearful of the downside. I ready to stand up and accept that side of it. I want to be successful, I am here to not be worried about that.

Do you know where you might play N'Golo Kante?

"Yeah I do actually. Not going to sit here and talk about next season, we are starting pre-season tomorrow. I have said it before out loud, Kante is is one of the greatest midfield players in the world, in the last few years his performances have been outstanding.

"One of the pleasures of me getting this job  is I am able to work with players of his quality and my job is to find the best position to get the best out of him in the team."

Who will make up the backroom staff?

"Jody Morris is coming with me as assistant head coach, we have a really close relationship, friendship and likeminded in the way we think about football. He obviously has a great link with the academy which is important, but more than that he is a fantastic coach, we have a huge loyalty together between each other day to day.

"Chris Jones will be here as coach, again the trust thing. Joe Edwards will move up from the U23s

"Eddie Newton will be working with us in the first team staff. He brings great experience and quality of coaching."

"It’s a very Chelsea orientated team but what I want to make clear is this is not an old boys club. What I’m trying to put together with this staff is talent, it’s fresh talent in my eyes.

"We are relatively young but we are not inexperienced. I may have only one year in management but in Jody, Joe and Eddie and Chris we have many years of coaching within us.

"And you mention about Petr and you mention about the talk of Didier and Makalele I think what we are trying to do and that is not just me it is the club is to bring in not just players who played for the club because they played for the club we are trying to bring in people that feel the club, yes, first and foremost yes that is nice but also people with an incredible work ethic.

The reason Petr Cech is here is because he has an incredible work ethic. I played with him and I know that and he has a real desire to be a positive for this club. That is a first talent or attribute you need so that’s how I see what we are trying to build."

Integration with the academy a priority?

"It will be one of the things we look at strongly but the integration thing can be slightly misconstrued. We have the first team building and we have an academy building and the one thing I will say is the beauty of having Jody and Joe in there is we know a lot of the players from a very young age and how they are and what we are saying is that that small path between those buildings you can cross it but you have to prove yourself to cross it and our eyes will be on that side of the building and if you prove yourself that you can come over and mix it with the first team and get yourself into the first team, get yourself training regularly and get yourself playing then you have an opportunity to bridge that gap.

"That’s the important thing that any young player needs to know. The academy have been doing great work for years here so it would a miss for me to come in and say I am not going to look at that. It is something I am going to look at that. It is important for us."

How did it feel waking up as a Chelsea manager?

"We were here quite late because we were talking and it was great for me to have time here and talk because I have to talk about my vision, my ideas and I wanted to hear that back from the club so those talks have been ongoing for the last week so I have to say I have been quite cool about it. But I have to say that when I woke up this morning and it was official, it felt good. It felt really good. I will have to get over that. That’s a nice emotion now but I have to get to work tomorrow but I am not going to lie it felt really good."

Fikayo Tomori and Mason Mount, with them last year are they part of your plans?

"Yeah they were great for me last year, both of them and I appreciated that. They were pivotal in the team and they come back now with a very clean slate as does every player, young, old, been on loan, at the club, whatever they are to prove in pre-season that they have a chance to be in the squad going forward so they are the same.

"Tammy Abraham is the same who I played against in the final, players like that who have been on loan, come back and know that what they show in pre-season will give them opportunity. Now we have a big squad. Not everybody will be able to stay for the development of certain individuals the path will be chosen whether it is with us or on loan, the loan system has worked very well in certain cases. That’s the next month’s assessment to see how we I and we together forge the squad."

Hunger to prove yourself again?

"I feel that hunger to prove myself even more. I feel it even more. I felt it as a player and I think there is nothing better in football. Nobody has an easy road as far as I’m concerned. There is always marks or steps in your career where questions are asked of you, no matter who you are and as a player I really liked that. I liked a challenge and I’m getting that again and it is not a problem."

Spoken to any previous managers?

"No I haven’t spoken to any of them and as it stands I don’t plan to call them. As I mentioned before I try and take bits from them throughout my career and that’s how I’ve tried to become my own person. If I felt the need to pick up the phone there are many numbers I could call but as it stands no."