Former Chelsea and Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has insisted that he was not surprised to see Frank Lampard move into coaching.
Lampard took charge of Derby County last year and almost got the Rams back into the Premier League in his first season in football management.
The former Blues midfielder was appointed Chelsea manager in the summer and despite a few hiccups, his work at Stamford Bridge has earned him praise because of his commitment to promoting young talent.
Benitez, who worked with Lampard for a short period of time at Chelsea, is not surprised to see the former midfielder move into coaching because of the heavy influence of his family on him.
The Spaniard wrote in his column for The Athletic: “I didn’t work with Frank for too long [it’s the same for John Terry, who is now assistant manager at Aston Villa], but it was not so difficult to guess he might go into coaching or management.
“You could see his interest in football but he also had the influence of his family all around him.
“He was surrounded by coaches; his father was assistant manager at West Ham for a long time and then worked with Brendan Rodgers, and Harry Redknapp is his uncle.
“Those relationships rub off.”
The former Newcastle and Liverpool boss also believes that Lampard’s position as a midfielder naturally leans into coaching as he had to show tactical nous during his playing days.
“The position he played may have had a role, too. What was Frank’s speciality as a player? The timing of his runs into the box to score goals.
“Sometimes, you just have a job to do and that’s it but when you play in the middle and have to get into the box and decide when to go and whether it’s to the near post, the edge of the box or the second post, it entails a lot of thinking.
“Being able to see and read the game – being able to think quickly – are important qualities for a manager.”
It has been claimed in some quarters that Chelsea are still expecting Lampard to get them top four this season despite their transfer ban in the summer.
