Harry Redknapp explains how he helped Frank Lampard get the Derby job and makes prediction

Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has revealed his role behind Frank Lampard's rise to Chelsea manager, playing an important role to the ex-midfielder landing the Derby County job.

Lampard led Derby to the Championship playoff final last season, which was his first as a manager, before moving to Stamford Bridge to succeed Maurizio Sarri.

He has caught the eye in West London, putting faith in young players and pushing for Champions League football, but his opportunities might have been extremely different if it wasn't for his uncle Harry.

“I had no doubts. I’ll be honest, I got him the job at Ipswich with Marcus Evans. I said, you need a manager, Frank Lampard is your man. He met him, loved him and offered him the job,” he told Sky Sports’ Football Show.

Chelsea Facebook Live - Alan Smith answers your questions

“Frank said to me, it’s difficult there, there’s no budget, I can’t bring players in, what can I do? I said it’s a great club but you’re going to need a bit of help, you can’t just wave a magic wand.

“Suddenly the Derby job became available and I rang Mel Morris, he’s got a house up the road from me and we get on really well. He said he’s going to go for an experienced manager, I said you keep getting managers and getting rid of them, you’ve not been very clever at getting managers, take Frank Lampard.

“He said no, he’s got no experience, and I said there’s been lots of great managers who have gone straight from playing, you’ve got Graeme Souness, Kenny Dalglish, now you’ve got Steven Gerrard. I said he knows the game, the kid is a great professional, he knows so much about football, he’d be fantastic for you and he’d bring so much to Derby County.

“Mel said maybe as an assistant, I said no he wants to be a manager, meet him, please have a meeting with him. I made a meeting for them, they had a meeting at seven, Mel rang me at half eight and said he’s blown me away, I’ve given him the job, and that was it.

“I had no doubts he would be a success. He’s a clever, bright lad, his work ethic is incredible, he knows the game and has been brought up with the game. He will be amazing.”