Frank Lampard gives view on England icons who dodge management amid latest challenge

Frank Lampard is back where he started in management - as standard bearer for England’s golden generation. Wayne Rooney ’s parting of the ways with Plymouth Argyle, and Steven Gerrard ’s desert adventures in Saudi Arabia exhausting the remaining grains of sand in the hourglass, leaves Lampard as last man standing in the dugout among a lost dynasty. Where former Three Lions team-mates Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Rio Ferdinand have found sanctuary on the TV pundits’ sofa, dear old Frank is back on the coconut shy with Coventry City.

Good on him. After winning 106 England caps and every conceivable trophy with Chelsea as a player, Lampard doesn’t need to validate his greatness in an industry where the average shelf life is barely 12 months. But after leading Chelsea into the Champions League despite a season-long transfer embargo, saving Everton from relegation and taking Derby to a play-off final at Wembley, he’s back for more.

“I love doing this job but I respect those who take the media route, especially the ones at the very top who put the work in on analysis to help viewers understand the game,” said Lampard, now 46. "It’s their choice and this (being a manager) is a different pace of life, but it’s for some and not for others. “It’s more challenging in one sense because of the public interest - everyone has an opinion on what you’re doing, but once you push that all to one side and you come to work every day, there’s something about trying to improve players and win games that I love doing.

“I respect the people who give it a go, including those who have a go and occasionally it doesn’t work out. I’m not in this arena to understand what this job takes - you succeed or fail at times, even though you put in the hours and do the work. That’s the nature of the job. “Coventry City is much bigger than me and when players like Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard come out of a long playing career, of course there’s a wider interest because of what we did in our careers.

“But it doesn’t bother me - Coventry were here a long time before me, they won the FA Cup and had a long unbroken run in the First Division or Premier League, and the connection I feel with people behind the scenes and the fans is great. That’s what makes coming into work so enjoyable.”. Back in the jungle of the Championship, where his reign at Derby peaked in the hilarious Spygate tale of Leeds United ’s industrial espionage six years ago, there is no chance of Lampard’s methods being disclosed by agents hiding in the bushes now. Coventry’s swish Ryton training ground has been upgraded into a fortress and only drones will get a sneak preview of his tactics.

“The Championship is much as I remember it,” he said. “There are lots of different styles to challenge you as a coach. I wouldn’t say I have unfinished business in this division - although we came close, and losing at Wembley was a major disappointment at the end, my time at Derby was an amazing experience. “Getting to the play-offs, being underdogs in the semi-finals and winning that game, was all great for me as a first-year coach so I don’t look at that experience as anything but positive. Now I’ve come to a club with similar ambition and great history.”.

Coventry are catching the wave after three consecutive wins, but the fortunes of last season’s promoted clubs in the penthouse - Southampton, Ipswich and Leicester - suggest the golden ticket to the top flight is now a hospital pass. Lampard admitted: “The economics of the Premier League, and the disparity of wealth, is a tough bridge to manage because even with parachute payments there are several clubs who go up and down regularly and they are working at a completely different level to the rest financially.

“It doesn’t change anything about the way I work, whether it’s preparing Chelsea to play Bayern Munich in the Champions League or taking on Leeds here in the Championship on Wednesday night. You can get as much enjoyment and satisfaction from those games and I’m happy working where I am.”. As luck would have it, Lampard sealed a £3.5 million deal for Swansea midfielder Matt Grimes 24 hours before the Sky Blues look to end a 75-year hoodoo in south Wales.

He said: “We’re getting a very good player. I’ve admired Matt for a long time - he brings good experience at this level and technical ability which makes him one of the best midfielders in the League. He will not feature this weekend, which is understandable, because he has been very respectful about the way he has left Swansea and, in terms of the timing of this game, it’s a twist of fate.”.

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