Frank Lampard has Jose Mourinho's boast – the trophies will surely follow – Andy Dunn

It may be a natural game for the mind, but immediately after Derby's magnificent victory at Elland Road on Wednesday, Frank Lampard recalled Jose Mourinho.

In fact, just before the final whistle, when he disdainfully pushed away a Leeds scarf that had been thrown at him, he cut a Mourinho figure.

This continued during the celebrations – giving local fans a bit of a bit, pushing back the security checks to reach his own fans, taking Richard Keogh in his arms, as Jose would have already caught John Terry.

Embracing young players in the same way that Mourinho hugged him. Like a father.

Lampard looked whenever the inspiring leader Mourinho had been, even with an elegant outfit.

Reaching the championship dams with Derby – and winning a thrilling two-legged tie with Leeds – is not a kind of blockbuster success on the part of management. I

Daniel Farke is not up to Norwich's second-ranked champions nor Chris Wilder, the league's manager of the League Managers' Association, will be automatically promoted with Sheffield United.

When the accounts for the 2018/19 season are established, Derby is unlikely to be in a very different position from last season – sixth in the pay table. With their wage commitment, challenges for the play-off are expected.

The fact that they remained within the limits of the Financial Fair Play seems to be due mainly to one of the owner's companies, Mel Morris, who bought the land and the leasing, which allowed the club to make a profit of approximately £ 40 million.

Creative accounting seems to be as crucial to the life of the championship as the discernment of coaches.

But Lampard shone in his first season as a manager.

It's a man who belongs to the role.

This is a man who could have taken the sweet and lucrative option. At one point, Sky Sports personalities imagined him less as an expert, but as their equivalent of Gary Lineker.

Lampard, instead, knows that he still belongs to the game, that he has a lot to offer as a manager. And it's hard not to think that Mourinho's influence has a lot to do with it.

In January 2014, during a dinner in honor of José, Lampard spoke of the qualities of Mourinho.

On his ability to put the players, especially the younger ones, at ease, how he conveyed his trust, how he spoke on the right tone at the right time, how he had that patriarchal touch but great expectations.

Behind the scenes, Derby says Lampard has similar traits.

No surprise.

This is not a transparent introduction. Perhaps he was too sensitive to Spygate's contact – though his bristling annoyance was also a touch of Mourinho.

Lampard struggled to contain his emotions Wednesday night and it was "only" a semi-final dam. But after Manchester United confirmed their move to the Europa League final in 2017, Mourinho was also struggling to stay in control … and they had just passed Celta Vigo.

Of course, a decent first season, which could improve if Derby beat Aston Villa at Wembley one week on Monday, would not make Lampard the next Mourinho.

But it will only be a matter of time.