Chelsea midfielder Jorginho has insisted that he worked hard to win over Frank Lampard, who he feels could have easily seen him as the symbol of Maurizio Sarri’s previous regime at Stamford Bridge.
Sarri signed the former Napoli midfielder when he joined Chelsea last year and he started almost every game under the Italian during his one-year stint as manager at Stamford Bridge.
Jorginho’s performance during the first few months of his time at Chelsea was heavily criticised and some fans regarded him as Sarri's favoured player.
However, the midfielder has remained a pivotal player even under Lampard and he admits that there was a risk he could have been closely associated with the problems of Sarri’s regime at Chelsea.
But he worked hard to earn Lampard’s trust and admits that the Chelsea manager decided to take stock of his quality on his own without any pre-conceived notions.
Jorginho also conceded that he was itching to move out of Sarri’s shadow as well.
The Chelsea midfielder told Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport when asked how he convinced Lampard of his quality: “In the simplest and most natural way – I worked.
“With Lampard, we came to an agreement during the summer break.
“There was a real risk that I could have been seen as the symbol of the previous coach.
“But Lampard wanted to judge me with his own eyes.
“I also wanted to demonstrate that I would be able to walk on my own legs without Sarri’s support.”
Jorginho has played a key role under Lampard so far this season and helped the Blues to sit third in the Premier League table.
