“Frank Lampard wants to be Jose Mourinho” – Jamie Carragher on what drives the Chelsea manager

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher feels Chelsea manager Frank Lampard wants to emulate former manager Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge. The English midfielder was an omnipresent feature in the Portuguese’s first spell with the Blues and was also at the club in the first year of Mourinho’s second spell.

Carragher had his duels with the current Chelsea boss during his playing days, and the two regularly locked horns when Liverpool took on the Blues. The former Reds defender spent his entire career at Anfield before retiring from football in 2013. Carragher has since moved on to a role as a television pundit.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Englishman claimed that the current Blues manager aspires to be like the Tottenham Hotspur boss.

“I think of players of my generation, I think of myself… I watch Jurgen Klopp on the sideline, fist-pumping The Kop when Liverpool have won, and I want to be him, it looks amazing. Frank Lampard wants to be Jose Mourinho, John Terry wants to be Jose Mourinho, I’m sure Thierry Henry looks at Arsene Wenger and thinks: ‘I’d love to do that, I could do that’”

Lampard is under a lot of pressure at the moment, with Chelsea eighth in the Premier League table. The Blues have lost four of their last six games and the Englishman has a job in his hands to revive their season.

Frank Lampard: “It’s not an easy situation but we have to keep fighting and I’m the first one who has to keep fighting”. [@liam_twomey] 🔵Chelsea board always backing Frank in the last weeks - today they’re really disappointed by the performance against Man City. #CFC

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 3, 2021

Chelsea manager’s inexperience might hurt him, says Carragher

Chelsea v Aston Villa - Premier League

Lampard’s record at Chelsea has been compared with those of his predecessors, including Mourinho. Despite the contrasting statistics of their time in charge, Carragher believes that the comparisons between the Englishman and the Portuguese are inevitable.

“Of course it is fair [to make those comparisons], he’s the Chelsea manager. Nobody knows Chelsea Football Club, and how ruthless they are with managers, more than Frank Lampard”

Frank Lampard is now statistically the worst Chelsea manager under Roman Abramovich... #CHEMCI pic.twitter.com/oWQzz45UX9

— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) January 3, 2021

Chelsea succumbed to a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City this weekend, and Carragher feels that Lampard’s inexperience might hurt him as the going gets tough.

“Frank went into a top job on the back of 12 months at Derby, the experience isn’t there. He didn’t get the job on the back of being a great manager, he got it because of Chelsea and Frank Lampard. I just think when you get those really big jobs and you haven’t got that experience, you’ve got nothing to fall back on when times are tough, as they will be now over the next few weeks for Frank”