Lampard Snr hoping to win family affair

Frank Lampard Snr has spent the last eight years cheering his son whenever he pulls on a Chelsea shirt, but the Watford football consultant is plotting his downfall this weekend.

Lampard, 60, joined the struggling Championship club to assist manager Brendan Rodgers in November and goes head to head with his son, the Chelsea midfielder, in Saturday’s FA Cup fifth round tie at Vicarage Road.

Guus Hiddink’s appointment as successor to sacked Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari will take most of the headlines as the Dutchman watches his new team for the first time. But the clash of the Lampards is an intriguing sub-plot.

Lampard admitted his son has been asking for an easy ride but he has no intention of going easy on the England star, who moved to Stamford Bridge in 2001 from West Ham, where Lampard Snr made his name as a player.

“When the draw was made, Frank rang me within four or five minutes and we had a chat about it and he’s quite happy about it,” he said.

“When he rang me, he said, ‘Dad, make sure their midfield don’t run with me, let me have a free run.’

“I can’t repeat what I said to him as it won’t go down too well but that is not going to happen.

“They’re still a fantastic team. They might not be playing as well as they can but on their day they can take most teams apart anywhere in the world.

“It’ll be a good test for our lads here at Watford. They are a good set of lads who work very hard and they are looking forward to putting themselves up for the test.

“As long as we give a good account of ourselves we’ll be happy. And if we can pull off a shock and get a result, then even better.”

Although Watford have won just one of their last seven league games, Lampard believes they can rise to the occasion and take advantage of a turbulent week for Chelsea.

“We are still in a relegation battle in the Championship so coming up against Chelsea means we can’t really lose. I certainly can’t, personally anyway, given my links with Chelsea,” he said.

“Brendan and I had a feeling it was going to be Chelsea funnily enough and that’s how it worked out. It’s turned into a massive game for them as well now and it might be a good time to play Chelsea.

“I’ve been in football a long time and Scolari’s sacking didn’t surprise me. These things happen all the time. Football is a results business and if you’re not getting the results then you know what will happen.

“But that is Chelsea’s concern, not ours. We will be prepared for them and will give them a proper game.