Friday 21 October 2016 10:02, UK
Frank Lampard insists Jose Mourinho is a winner and will be eager for success when the former Chelsea boss returns to Stamford Bridge with Manchester United on Sunday.
Mourinho, who spent five years at Chelsea during two spells, returns to Stamford Bridge for only the second time as an opposition manager when United face Chelsea on Nissan Super Sunday.
And Lampard, who has worked both with and against Mourinho, thinks the Portuguese boss will be working hard to get one over on his former employers.
"Jose Mourinho's a winner," Lampard told Sky Sports. "I've worked with him and against him and he wants to win games, none more so than when it's a big competitive game like this.
"He'll be very aware of the history and I'm sure he's still got a huge feeling for Chelsea from his time at the club.
"On the other hand he'll be working hard on his team to get them organised to get the right result at Stamford Bridge.
"I expect nothing more from a passionate man on the touchline and an organised Manchester United side will give Chelsea a very tough game."
Lampard, who made 429 Premier League appearances for the Blues, featured against United on 27 occasions, scoring four goals.
The former England international was on the winning side nine times, drawing seven and losing 11 and he thinks Mourinho's return as United boss adds an extra dimension to an already big fixture.
"I have great memories," Lampard said. "Chelsea v Manchester United is always a huge game.
I've worked with him and against him and he wants to win games, none more so than when it's a big competitive game like this.
"Generally, during my time at the club, both clubs were fighting for the title so it was always a passionate game, a difficult game because they've always had great players and I think we had a lot of success against them at the time.
"It was a game I always looked forward to and I'm looking forward to watching it this weekend before we play because, especially at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea players, there's always a huge atmosphere around it.
"There'll be an added dimension with Jose Mourinho going back so it's a huge game.
"It will be even bigger with the extra ingredients the game has now."
Meanwhile, Lampard is gearing up for New York City FC's final game of the regular MLS season on what is being billed as 'Decision Day' stateside.
Patrick Vieria's side have already qualified for the play-offs but victory on Sunday, when they face Columbus Crew at Yankee Stadium, will guarantee them second place in the Eastern Conference and a bye.
"We're working hard and preparing well," the midfielder said. There's a lot of focus and there's a lot of desire to not only finish second and make the play-offs but put in a good performance in our last regular season game in front of our own fans.
"We want to then take that into the play-offs and do as well as we can."
While Lampard thinks reaching the play-offs for the first time in just their second season is a huge moment for the club, he is now targeting MLS Cup glory.
"[Reaching the play-offs] means a great deal to us," he said. "The moment we made the play-offs the feeling we had amongst the group was huge and that transits from the fans.
"We are a family and when you are club like we are and you are growing, you have that link to the fans all the time.
"I know the fans are desperate for success," he added. "It's historic but at the same time the important thing now is not to rest on just making the play-offs.
"We've got a lot of people here that want to win. New York City is a winner's city, people respond to teams that have passion and win things, and that's what we are going to do together going forward."
Watch MLS 'Decision Day', including Colorado Rapids v Houston Dynamo, Los Angeles Galaxy v FC Dallas, Seattle Sounders FC v Real Salt Lake and Vancouver Whitecaps v Portland Timbers live on Sky Sports on Sunday from 9pm.
