A new Motherwell midfielder has praised the impact of the legendary Frank Lampard in his growth as a player.
18-year-old Kai Andrews joined the club on loan from Coventry City on January 7 and has already made three appearances for his new side.
The Welsh youth international believes that former England star Lampard, his manager at Coventry, has been a great mentor for him.
Andrews said: “It’s definitely been a privilege to work with one of the best central midfielders of all time.
“The training sessions I had with him definitely improved me a lot as a player.”
The youngster has few memories of Chelsea legend Lampard’s playing career, but has since watched clips of him and benefitted from his experience.
“There’s not many people better for you to learn from - especially with him playing my position - and I just wanted to take on as much information as I could,” Andrews added.
It is Andrews’ first loan spell and first real taste of senior football, coming at a club which is focused on developing young players.
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On the subject of joining Motherwell he said: “The biggest thing I need in my career at this stage is first team minutes and first team football, so when I saw Motherwell come in for me I think it was a no-brainer really.
“It’s a tough league, tough opposition and it’s a great chance for me to progress.
“I’m getting used to the speed and the training levels, which is definitely a jump from academy football.”
Nevertheless, he remains confident despite the negative reaction to his team’s display at St. Johnstone in the Scottish Cup last week.
Andrews said: “It’s my first time living away from home as a young person, it’s always going to be tough but I feel I’ve settled well.
“With first team football every game, every point, is so important.
“It’s a different level of competitiveness compared to academy football so the type of reaction you’re going to get from managers, players and coaches is not what you’re going to get in academy football and that’s definitely a big learning jump for me.”
Motherwell will see this weekend’s fixture against the same opposition at the same ground as a chance to put things right.
Andrews added: “I know how passionate fans can be and of course they have every right to be - this is their home club.
“So when we don’t put up a good performance in such a big cup competition which is important to the club, the fans, the players, we just have to try and set that right.”
