Frank Lampard has spoken of his admiration for Jurgen Klopp ahead of Chelsea's game against Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup.
The Blues ' head coach will be going head-to-head against Klopp for the first time, as the Europa League winners take on their Premier League rivals in Istanbul, who won the Champions League final against Tottenham at the beginning of June.
And Lampard says he is relishing the prospect of going up against the German and his Liverpool side.
“I love the challenge of going up against a man I have so much admiration for as a person, and I don’t know him," Lampard said, speaking on BT programme Sport in Focus ahead of the showpiece clash.
“But in terms of character and personality that we see from him on the outside, and also you see that his players relate to him. We talk about man-management being as important as tactics, and you see a man there that certainly knows how to get everything out of the players, the squad and the club.”
Meanwhile, Lampard has delivered a warning to his players ahead of the game as he spoke about the quality that Liverpool have within their side.
“We are going up against a team with the quality Liverpool have. As tense as finals can be, you can lose them, they are tough, but we can’t lose it on the premise that we don’t have the hunger or desire, and everything you need to try and win a game of this magnitude," he said.
“It will be one of my first competitive games, every player needs to recognise the importance of the game to the club and they have to give everything.
“It is going to be tough, but we can’t walk off that pitch thinking that we could have done this, we can’t make any excuses and we have to be prepared to win the match."
