Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic has aimed a dig at the monotonous training sessions of former Blues manager Maurizio Sarri.
The Croatia international has made it clear he far prefers life at Chelsea under new boss Frank Lampard, who replaced Sarri after his move to take over at Juventus in the summer.
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Despite winning the Europa League and making the top four in a strong first season at Stamford Bridge, it certainly felt like many Chelsea fans never really warmed to Sarri.
It would also seem, judging from Kovacic’s words in an interview with AS, that the Italian tactician wasn’t particularly popular with his players either.
“I came to Chelsea under Sarri, but I must say that Lampard is an exceptional manager. He has kept the character he had as a player in his personality as a coach, which has inspired all of us,” he said.
“He commits himself with everything he’s got. Training is always challenging and different from last season.
“That’s probably the main difference between Lampard and Sarri, who made the concept of training quite monotonous. There were a lot of similar training sessions with a focus on tactical preparation.”
Chelsea fans will no doubt be encouraged to see Kovacic speaking about Lampard in such glowing terms, with the inexperienced head coach looking a very promising managerial prospect.
Lampard has had his ups and downs in his first season as CFC manager, but there does seem to be something very positive to build on at the club as they put together an exciting young squad.