INTERVIEW WITH FRANK LAMPARD: Derby's boss on being "intrigued" by Marcelo Bielsa (and reading his book)

Even for Frank Lampard, it's been a whole week. One of the most decorated footballers in English football has encountered all that football has to offer during a brilliant career of 21 years – but he quickly discovers that nothing really prepares you for the management of the soccer.

Lampard experienced in seven days the ups and downs and the most ridiculous.

The best: Wednesday night's victory in euphoric kicks against Southampton, while Derby eliminated the Premier League team out of the FA Cup. The lowest: the loss to Leeds in the crucial crash of the championships last Friday.

Frank Lampard celebrates victory over Southampton in a remarkable week

Her Derby team defeated Southampton in the FA Cup – after being spied on by a Leeds employee

Ridicule: well – where do we start? Lampard, unintentionally, was found at the eye of a storm after Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa admitted to spying on Derby training.

I'm intrigued by him [Bielsa] All season, Lampard admitted. "I read Bielsa's book. He came into my office after the game at Pride Park, he's an interesting character.

Still, Lampard does not wish to expand on the subject. He wants to move on. In general, he wants to extract the positive elements of what has been a particular week.

As a player, he was a sponge, gathering information to make the most of himself. He is the same as a manager. "Spygate" is simply part of the learning curve.

The boss of Leeds, Marcelo Bielsa, ordered the espionage and Lampard is fascinated by his rival.

Legend of Chelsea discovers that running a football team consumes a lot, but spend time in the presence of this man and you will feel that he would not have it otherwise.

"The ups and downs are something that you definitely have to get used to and balance," said Derby's boss. "One of the hardest things about this job is its consumption.

"I take the match with me more than one player, but I'm lucky to have a good staff – Jody [Morris], Chris Jones, Shay [Given]. We do not miss anything here. I'm lucky in this case.

"I am someone who likes to be practical. On my laptop, I watch workouts, watch our opponents, watch our games, try to find the least adjustment possible.

"I'm very lucky that my wife is very understanding. We were very together about the decision because I did not need to get into management at the time I entered.

"I wanted it for the family; we had a young baby on the way at the same time. It was as if I had stacked one thing over another.

His coaching team at Derby includes Chelsea's old friends, Jody Morris (left) and Chris Jones (right).

Credit to Lampard for being thrown to the bottom. Chelsea dropped on himself to persuade him to return. Similarly, the Football Federation made it clear that she wanted to play a role for him at St George's Park.

Lampard chose Derby and the unpredictability of championship football. Just as former English colleague Steven Gerrard, who chose to leave the Liverpool Academy to get tested by the Rangers, he made the brave decision to step out of his comfort zone.

"We are not stupid, Steven and I know the amount is high because of the name," said Lampard.

"I feel pressure, I felt it early when we won in Reading but lost in Leeds and Millwall and people were saying," How long will it last? "C & # 39 is hard, but when the projector is turned on a bit more, that's what it is.

Lampard did not have the considerable gaming budget enjoyed by the managers with whom he had worked at Chelsea, but he arrived in May fully conscious and prepared for these constraints.

Captured youths Mason Mount, Harry Wilson and Fikayo Tomori reinvigorated their team with youthful enthusiasm. Still, there is still a lot of rebuilding work to do with a number of non-contract players at the end of the season.

Lampard knows it will be a big challenge, but it shows how quickly he took the lead, so Derby has launched a realistic promotion cry.

Their win in September on the Carabao Cup against Manchester United, coupled with Southampton's, provides further evidence of Lampard's excellent early life as a manager, especially after spending so little.

Lampard also claimed the Manchester United scalp in the League Cup earlier this season

"I had the opportunity to be ambbadador to Chelsea, but it was not the right thing for me at the time," he explained.

"The FAs, Dan Ashworth were fantastic, so there were open doors but they were never concrete, but Derby came and now I'm here, I'm actually pretty happy to have changed.

"I've learned so much here in six months in a new club, in a new city. It's absolutely out of my comfort zone. The Chelsea Academy would have probably been sitting in a pretty comfortable place for me.

"Do I appreciate every aspect – not always every minute? I certainly appreciate more the victories than those of player. I feel more losses than I did as a player, but I love it.

"I've heard officials say how lonely this job is. The last five minutes on the sideline in Leeds are solitary, you are 2-0 and you know what will happen.

He says that he does not miss his glorious playing career and wants to put himself to the test as a boss.

Yet, Lampard has not lost his playing career. Her attitude towards retirement is a stark contrast to thousands of former professionals who openly admit that they do not play.

"I am not afflicted with my career. I felt I was doing everything I could, "said the 40-year-old. "If you'd asked me at 17 to play for Chelsea and England, to win everything I did, I would not have really believed it.

"I was so much about myself that I was playing, fully coached – I really liked not having that. I have sat on a few panels in the Premier League and reviewed divorce statistics, financial problems and explained how players can be better supported.

"But I did not have a lot of fears. I knew I wanted to finish, it was the right time. But I understand why players know it because it's difficult.

"The camaraderie did not bother me too much. I enjoyed the locker room, but I have never been able to say: "I will miss the cloakroom so much". I was not that player, so that was not a big deal for me. & # 39;

There is a Whatsapp group used by Lampard to keep in touch with his teammates in Chelsea

Lampard says he has a "huge connection" with John Terry and Ashley Cole also joins him in Derby

That's not to say that Lampard has not nurtured enduring friendships in the game. The Blues legend is still in close contact with former Chelsea teammates John Terry, Petr Cech and Didier Drogba. Ashley Cole, another former Stamford Bridge colleague, is about to join him at Pride Park.

Lampard added: "I talk to John regularly, we have a very strong connection. We have a WhatsApp group with John, Didier, Ashley and Petr – just about the entire team, we keep in touch all the time.

"I was not alone in the locker room, certainly not and there will always be a connection between the Chelsea group. Even in Man City, I'm in touch with [Sergio] Aguero and some of the players there.