Chelsea coach Frank Lampard has leapt to the defence of his former coach and mentor Jose Mourinho, insisting that the current Spurs coach remains a ‘top manager.’
With the two sides squaring up this Sunday in the London derby, Lampard was full of praise for Mourinho, who helped mould him into a quality footballer.
Mourinho arrived in England in 2004 and quickly transformed Chelsea’s into a winning team, with Lampard, who became the club’s all-time top scorer, the poster boy of the team.
However, the Portuguese manager has come under scrutiny in recent times following an eventful second spell at Chelsea and his perceived failure at Manchester United. He is, however, redeeming himself at Spurs, who he has led to the top of the table after nine games this season.
When asked about the status of the former Real Madrid coach, Lampard insisted that the criticism of Mourinho was “so reactionary.”
“Of course, he is [still a top manager],” Lampard stated in his pre-match press conference as quoted by Goal.
“You don’t have a record as decorated as Jose Mourinho has a manager without being a very talented coach.
“For all of us, the game is so reactionary at the moment and particularly in the modern era with social media reactions form will always be judged very harshly for any manager. Tottenham are in good form. They are on a good run; they have good players, they have a good manager.
“It will be a very difficult game for us. I played in the fixture many a time, and the fact we’re in good form towards the top of the table adds spice, we’re in positions we want to be in and we’re all fighting for those.
“So it’s a game that remains special for those reasons, and the league positions, of course, all eyes will be drawn to it.”
The two managers have met twice since Mourinho’s appointment with Frank Lampard winning their only League meeting so far.