Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has admitted to being extra motivated for victory as he prepares to come up against his old manager Jose Mourinho at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Lampard won two Premier League titles as a Chelsea player when working under Mourinho, fulfilling his potential as one of English football's greatest midfielders in the process.
The 41-year-old moved into coaching after hanging up his boots in 2017 and, after a successful stint at Derby, now finds himself back at Stamford Bride in a managerial capacity.
Lampard inherited a squad which is a far cry from the win-at-all-costs, trophy-obsessed group he was part of when Mourinho was at Chelsea, but he has managed to affect significant change during his first few months in charge.
The Blues have risen to fourth in the top flight after 17 fixtures, with a number of academy stars emerging as key performers after being drafted into the senior fold over the summer.
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Lampard has maximised the output of the players at his disposal, having been unable to bring in any new recruits during the summer due to a FIFA-imposed transfer ban.
A youthful Chelsea side are now getting ready for perhaps their biggest test to date, as they look ahead to a clash with fifth-placed Tottenham.
Mourinho has overseen five wins out of seven across all competitions since replacing Mauricio Pochettino at the helm, with Spurs suddenly looking like a formidable outfit capable of challenging for major honours.
Lampard says he is determined to get one over on his former mentor in a London derby which he believes has an extra "special" edge this time around.
"I think it will be special. I think it will make a difference to me, I think it will make a difference to him," the Chelsea head coach told BBC's Football Focus.
"We’re both professionals, we’re driven, and sometimes when you come across someone you worked with or a club that you worked with, it pushes you on that little bit more in the best possible way.
"And it’s Tottenham-Chelsea, that game has enough anyway. And then you have Jose Mourinho there. And he’s going to be desperate to beat us, let’s make no bones."
When asked directly if recording a win against Mourinho would be an extra sweetener to go along with three points, Lampard responded: "In my professional head, yes. I want to go up against the best.
"When I’ve gone up against Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp this season, of course, you want to say: 'Can I show against these incredible managers what I can do, what my team can do?'
"So it will be a similar feeling."
Lampard added on Tottenham being capable of a top-four finish with Mourinho at the wheel: "I think his personality – and his record – is something that needs to be in top-level football.
"So having Jose back is obviously going to mix it right up in the Premier League. We know the record that Jose has as a winning manager, he’s won wherever he’s been.
"He’s come into a club, and a squad, that were probably tipped to be somewhere in the title race at the beginning of the season.
"They had a difficult start, but they still have those players. So with the freshness of Jose Mourinho, of course, they’re going to be challengers for sure for the top four."
