Lampard would welcome Mourinho reunion

LONDON (AFP) –

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard celebrates after the UEFA Europa League final against Benfica at the Amsterdam ArenA on May 15, 2013. Lampard on Monday admitted he would love to work with Jose Mourinho again as reports continue to link the Real Madrid manager with a return to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard on Monday admitted he would love to work with Jose Mourinho again as reports continue to link the Real Madrid manager with a return to Stamford Bridge.

Lampard credits Mourinho with giving him the belief to become a world-class performer during their time together at Chelsea between 2004 and 2007.

Mourinho’s reputation has lost some of its lustre since then and his stormy three-year spell at Real looks set to end after the Bernabeu club called a board meeting on Monday in the aftermath of Friday’s Spanish Cup final defeat against Atletico Madrid.

Real have already had an approach rejected for Carlo Ancelotti, currently in charge at French champions Paris Saint-Germain, and Mourinho’s exit seems only a matter of time.

Lampard, who recently signed a new one-year contract after becoming Chelsea’s all-time leading scorer, remains a big admirer of Mourinho and asked what makes his former boss so successful, the England international told TalkSPORT: “It’s a presence and an aura and a way with people.

“He galvanises people. His own self-confidence reflects back on his teams. He did that to me personally.

“Tactically he’s fantastic. He’s very astute. As a team he sets you up brilliantly.

“But what he does is he gets the best out of players and gets this togetherness that I’d never known until he came to the club and I haven’t seen it again since then.

“He might rub people up the wrong way. But as a manager, he’s brilliant with his team tactically, he’s brilliant with individuals and I think he’s brilliant with the press. I know it creates a storm but he does protect his players.”

Mourinho’s previous spell at Chelsea brought the west London team two Premier League titles, including the club’s first for 50 years, the FA Cup and the two League Cups.

But the Portuguese coach departed in controversial circumstances amid claims he fell out with Blues owner Roman Abramovich and several players.

Asked if a reunion could end in tears again, Lampard insisted he was sorry to see Mourinho leave and saw no reason why the 50-year-old couldn’t be successful again.

“I wasn’t fed up with it,” said Lampard. “He made me believe I was better than I was at the time.

“I thought I was a decent player but he said to me ‘listen, you can really get to the top’ and he made me believe it. I tried to take it on and do it.

“I’ve had really good managers and different managers at times. It’s the ones that get the best out of you, individually.

“We’re all human beings and if a manager doesn’t talk to you and tell you what they want or whether they’re happy with you confidence can go up and down.

“Mourinho was the best. For me he was. He brought my confidence to a level it had never been.”