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Frank Lampard is home, but he isn’t the only one returning to the club today. Derby County have confirmed that assistant manager Jody Morris and first-team coach Chris Jones are joining Lampard as well — “as part of the compensation agreement” — presumably to carry on the same functions with the Blues. Derby make no mention of goalkeeper coach Shay Given, who was rumored to be coming along as well. Perhaps he will do so at a later date, or perhaps he will stay put.
“Frank, along with Jody and Chris, leave with our best wishes and I sincerely hope they have success at Chelsea.
“I thoroughly enjoyed working with Frank and while we would have loved his time at Derby County to continue, to build on the positives we saw last season, the opportunity for him to return to Chelsea as their Head Coach was huge.
“As a club, we have enjoyed an excellent working relationship with Chelsea recently and would like that to continue moving forward.”
-Mel Morris; source: Derby County FC
Similar well wishes were sent by Lampard, who leaves on good terms and perhaps paves the way for another batch of loanees to head to Derby next season.
“I would like to say a special thank you to Mel Morris, the players, staff and everyone who is associated with Derby County Football Club. It has been a fantastic experience for me, and I feel privileged to have managed such a prestigious club.
“Most of all, I want to thank the fans who supported me and the team from the day I arrived in the City. I wish everyone the best of luck going forward.”
-Frank Lampard; source: Derby County FC
Chelsea are expected to promote Development Squad (U23) head coach Joe Edwards and loanee liaison Eddie Newton to help fill out Lampard’s first-team coaching staff.
And now the season can start. Here we go!