It’s been an impressive start to life in the Stamford Bridge dugout for Frank Lampard, and Mateo Kovacic has spoken in glowing terms about the Chelsea boss, calling him ‘the perfect teacher’.
Many were expecting this season to be one of transition for Chelsea, the Blues being placed under a two-window transfer embargo and having lost the influential Eden Hazard to Real Madrid in the summer.
However, so far the club have exceeded many fans’ expectations, the Blues currently sitting in third in the Premier League with Frank Lampard having brought an entertaining style of play to Stamford Bridge.
While Lampard’s integration of the likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori into the first team has grabbed the headlines, the former midfielder has also brought about an improvement in form from the likes of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic.
Speaking about his 41-year-old boss, Croatia international Kovacic has issued a glowing assessment, calling him ‘the perfect teacher’.
“Now I see why he was such a great player,” Kovacic told chelseafc.com.
“His mentality is really strong. That’s what he wants to bring to us: to have a strong mentality, a winning mentality. He always won a lot of trophies.
“He has a great connection with every player. He is a great guy, he likes to joke, he likes to laugh. He’s the perfect teacher for us. We need to learn from him, and for now we are enjoying it, he is as well enjoying it, so it’s a nice connection.
“Now the moment is good, when the tough moments come it will be a test for us and for him, but we need to keep training as we are doing. We are working really hard. Four months he has been here, and every training was hard, and that’s important being at such a great club like Chelsea.”
‘A big lesson for us’ – Zola names the Chelsea player who has surprised him this season
See also – A position each top six side needs to strengthen in January