Lampard appeared on talkSPORT Drive to discuss Jose Mourinho's influence on his managerial career.
Frank Lampard's Coventry will face champions Arsenal away in the first round.
Host: Delighted to say, 'Super Frank' joins us now. Frank, how are you, mate?
Lampard: Good afternoon, and thank you for having me.
Host: Frank, with this huge game against Arsenal, are you excited, nervous, or just eager to get the first game over with?
Lampard: Yeah, I'm excited. I think we all are. We have our own story, not having played in the top league for 25 years. The team performed exceptionally well last year, and the players brought us here.
Now, reality has certainly set in, and seeing an away game against Arsenal in the first round makes it even more real, because they are deserved champions. But we have to focus on ourselves and meet the challenge head-on. You know, you're going to play the strongest teams away all season, so the sooner the better. We are still at the beginning of the season, we just need to be as prepared as possible and play with confidence. I don't want the players to be intimidated by the opponent, they deserve to play in the top tier of English football. We are going to challenge the champions, and hopefully we can perform at our best.
Host: Frank, how has pre-season preparation been? You've made some excellent signings, bringing in some very good players, and retaining some key players from last season, which is great. Are you happy with the preparation?
Lampard: Yes, it's been good. Really good. I don't think the process has been easy. We secured promotion quite early, and because we came up early and the season started later, it was difficult to do much in the summer window. We knew we wanted to help and improve the squad, but it's not easy to do that in the summer.
Those months were quiet, especially during the World Cup. So we just had to wait for some players to return. We are looking forward to them joining and hope to adjust the squad to how we want it. We've been working hard with the players, they came back quite early and did a lot of physical and recovery training, which is typical pre-season.
In the last two or three weeks, with the new signings arriving, we've been able to focus more on tactics, clarify how we want to play, how to approach this season, first establishing the overall idea, and then specifically preparing for Arsenal, because we know what kind of challenge that will be.
I think the players are in good shape, training well, and full of anticipation. So, Friday is coming, and as a season opener, it couldn't be a better way to start.
Host: Frank, how do you balance these two things: on one hand trusting the players who brought you into the top tier of English football, and on the other hand, knowing that to stay at this level and compete with strong teams, you still need stronger players?
Lampard: Yes, that's a very good question, Mike, because we've all seen this from the outside, it's not easy, and you have to be very strategic. You try your best to give this squad the best chance. Again, we have a job to do, and that is to compete.
We all understand that the level of English football's top tier is what it is, it's the strongest league in the world. The question is, can we maintain the unity and fighting spirit of last season and supplement it with some quality to help the players and take us to the level we want to reach. To be honest, the team atmosphere is great, both for the players who stayed and the new arrivals. The new players have integrated quickly, and the overall environment certainly feels good. Once the league starts, the real challenges will present themselves, but from a preparation perspective, I am very satisfied with where we are now.
There's still a little time left in the transfer window, but the games are starting soon, which is good. We've had enough pre-season friendlies, and we're now ready for the official matches.
Host: Frank, I know you'd prefer to focus on your own team, but I guess you'll draw a lot of confidence from Sunderland and Leeds' performances last season, especially Sunderland.
Lampard: I know, getting into the European places in the first season is incredible, but in the seasons before that, we often saw promoted teams get relegated immediately. But seeing what happened last season, that should give you a lot of confidence.
Yes, exactly, Bent. I think that's a great reference for us, because we played Sunderland in the semi-finals the year before, so we knew what they were like then. Watching them from afar last year, you could see the results they achieved.
Throughout the summer, my coaching staff and I also studied many teams like the ones you mentioned – those that got promoted and stayed in the top league, or those that perhaps didn't have the strongest finances in the league but always overperformed. I think Sunderland's performance in the transfer market was excellent first and foremost; they were very proactive and made signings in areas that needed strengthening.
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