Slaven
Bilic has not been surprised to watch Frank Lampard’s rise and has always
been impressed with the Chelsea manager’s determination to succeed.
Bilic and Lampard, who played together for a brief period at West Ham, meet
for the first time in the dugout on Saturday as Bilic's West Brom host the
Blues, live on Sky Sports.
The Baggies have lost their first two matches, to Leicester and Everton, in
a difficult start to the Premier League season and will be looking to bounce
back against this summer's top spenders.
Reflecting on his opposite number, Bilic said: "Frank has that determination
to give everything, to try everything and to work really hard, and he
carries that from his father who was first of all that kind of a player and
that kind of a man, very serious.
"Frank, from the beginning you could see that he had a plan. He knew 'I want
to go there, I want to go there' and the sky was the limit.
"I remember him and I mentioned his name more than probably any other player
when I was talking in my career to the players - in Russia, in Croatia, in
Turkey, in England - how if you have a talent, how much you can do if you
have that working rate on a daily basis, because that is exactly what he was
doing at West Ham.
"He was a young player that was talented and he also worked really hard.
"But, at that stage he also had a bit of pressure on his back because his
father was assistant manager, so I think that helped him a lot to cope with
a bit of negativity that was always around.
"Like 'you are there because you are protected, you are privileged because
your father is pushing you', which obviously wasn't the case because he
became one of the best. Not one of the best midfielders but one of the best
players in the world."
Chelsea have spent over £200m on seven major signings in this summer's
transfer window and Bilic has backed Lampard to find success with the London
club.
"The talent that Frank and the club have brought into Chelsea, it's great
and it gives their fans and their players and everybody the confidence that
they can again become title contenders," said the Croatian.
"They weren't last season because obviously they didn't spend enough money
to strengthen their squad.
"Nowadays you see in every transfer that the big ones - but not only the big
ones - every team from the Premier League is trying to improve, is trying to
get more players, to get more quality on the pitch, so they've done it.
"For me it's only the start of the season and it's a matter of how quick
they are going to gel. But they are top players and with Frank I think it
will not take them a long time to gel."
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