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Former Chelsea players thought John Terry would beat Frank Lampard to Blues job
John Obi Mikel spent 11 years at Chelsea and shared the dressing room with both Frank Lampard and John Terry.
John Obi Mikel has revealed that himself and a number of former players expected John Terry to reach top level management quicker than Frank Lampard.
Lampard is of course now the manager of Chelsea after just one year in senior coaching with Derby.
Having guided the Rams to the Championship play-off final, he was fast-tracked into the Stamford Bridge hot-seat after the departure of Maurizio Sarri.
And while it doesn’t surprise Mikel, he admits he did always think it would be Terry who made the bigger steps after retiring given his experience as a captain and leader.
“I am very happy for Frank,” he said in an interview with 61 Saat.
“When we were playing at Chelsea we were expecting that John Terry and he would be very good managers.
“But we were expecting Terry to reach that level first.
“Lampard made a big step. I hope he will be successful at Chelsea for many more years.
“I also want to see John Terry in similar jobs in the future because he was our leader on the pitch.”
Lampard has made a fine start to life as Blues boss too, integrating the club’s academy products who have become the core of his side.
Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori have all earned senior call-ups for England which is a credit to their manager’s faith and guidance.
Terry is the head coach of Aston Villa, which is where he finished his playing career as he learns his trade under Dean Smith in the Premier League.
Mikel is still playing in Turkey with Trabzonspor and still feels as if he has life left in him at the age of 32.
“His [Lampard’s] arrival at Chelsea means the club are caring for their legends,” he added.
“I joked with him after the Chelsea move: I want to be his assistant when I retire.”