Manuel Pellegrini: As manager you must want to learn as much as you can

The hammers' tactician also reserved high praise for the opposing number.

Chelsea and West Ham United face each other in the upcoming Premier League encounter and Manuel Pellegrini took this opportunity to heap praise upon Frank Lampard, who has previously played under his tutelage. Lampard had endured a short loan stint at Manchester City in the Premier League and Pellegrini talked about how the time the Chelsea boss spent in Etihad had an impact upon his managerial acumen. [KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] Manuel Pellegrini said, “When you want to be a manager you must want to learn as much as you can. During your career as a player, you see different people who manage the club in different ways and play different football. You can win titles in a number of different ways, and you choose one of those. “For Frank Lampard, it was a very good experience for his career not to have been always at Chelsea. I know he started with West Ham, but for the most part of his professional career he was at Chelsea. To go to Manchester City, to see another way of playing football, that helped him to improve as a manager and I'm very happy for him. “Every player tries to learn from the way you work. Of course, [as a player] you are always talking with different players, but I think you learn more from seeing.” Chelsea have been sublime since Lampard has taken over the duties as they have secured 26 points from 13 matches and are the fourth spot in the points table with three points behind Leicester City. A season that was supposed to be a transitional one for them due to the transfer ban has been met with immense applause from the critics as Lampard has seamlessly slotted into the role and promoted the younger lot of players to a huge extent too. [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="RELATED NEWS | ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS] Pellegrini further emphasized on his statement as he remarked, “As I got older as a player I was probably more attentive of a manager's nature and things they said, how they held meetings and things like that. It was always something you put into the bank and think, well, that could be how I want to do it or not.” On the other hand, the Hammers are languishing at the 17 spot, just three points safe of the relegation zone and have lost four out of their last five matches in the league. With the contrasting run of form that both teams have been privy to in recent times, it is safe to assume that Chelsea would enter this contest as the overwhelming favorites to emerge victorious eventually.