"Frank Lampard has done a remarkable job" - Petr Cech praises former Chelsea team-mate
Petr Cech has praised Frank Lampard for the work he has done in his first few months as Chelsea manager.
The Blues are currently third in the Premier League table having won eight of their first 12 matches under Lampard.
Cech also returned to Stamford Bridge in the summer, taking up a position as a technical and performance advisor.
The former goalkeeper played alongside Lampard for a decade, winning four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, the Champions League and the Europa League.
And Cech believes the ex-England international has done a superb job in what is only his second managerial role.
“The manager with his coaching staff has done a remarkable job,” he told the Guardian. “They managed to integrate players in the team. The senior players were a huge help for the young players.
"They help them become better and keep them grounded. And the biggest part is the coaching staff and the manager because he sets the tone on the training ground. He takes the biggest credit.”
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Lampard was unable to make any signings in the summer after Chelsea were hit with a two-window transfer ban for breaching FIFA regulations regarding the signing of under-18 foreign players.
And Cech acknowledges that the west London outfit have adopted a different, more long-term outlook in the last few months.
“You have to adapt,” he says. “Arsenal was Arsène Wenger for 22 years. Chelsea had 22 managers in 22 years.
“I always worked for one thing: play the best game, train the best way, be the best possible version of yourself. This is how you stay when a new manager comes.
"When you make sure your job is the top, you can influence others. This kind of thing I can bring with me. I can influence others and hopefully everything will come together and the first team will benefit. Hopefully the whole club will benefit.”
Lampard's side travel to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City on Saturday.
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Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).