Frank Lampard took over the managerial reins at Derby insisting he is strong enough to make the tough, sometimes brutal decisions that go with the job. All through his playing and latterly his punditry career the former midfielder has been perceived as one of football’s nice guys but he claimed he is going into a new chapter with his eyes open.

“Brutal is a strong word but you can’t go into management seeing it any other way,” the former Chelsea and England player said. “Decisions have to be made. I have been on the receiving end of managerial decisions, and when you are dropped at age 25 you hate it. I understand young players don’t always see the bigger picture but there are ways of speaking to people. I believe I have the strength to make decisions that are right for the team.”

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Lampard insisted he would be his own man rather than a clone of some of the big names he has worked under, though he has clearly learned a great deal from some of his coaches. “Carlo Ancelotti was a manager you loved to play for, Harry Redknapp brought me through and showed me how to work at being a player, and José Mourinho changed my mindset,” he said.

“What José did for me was not technical or tactical, it was a confidence thing. I was a player who thought he was doing pretty well at Chelsea and he convinced me I could go an extra step and do better on a bigger stage.”

Derby will not be among the Championship’s biggest spenders, with the chairman, Mel Morris, trying to cut the wage bill, yet Lampard had been in his new job for less than 10 minutes when he was asked about the possibility of bringing in John Terry. “I’m going to knock that one out of the park, I haven’t even had a conversation with John yet,” he said.

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“I got a text from him this morning but that’s all; he’s on holiday somewhere. In terms of team strengthening I’ll look at the big picture – that’s how I’ll get out of that question. I don’t have a list as such but I’m prepared. I know the sort of players I want.”

Derby County (@dcfcofficial) Lampard is a Ram. 🐏 #WelcomeFrank pic.twitter.com/7q6nbiV09V

Lampard intends to honour his World Cup punditry commitments with the BBC. “It doesn’t interfere with the Derby pre-season and it will be nice to look at a few players,” he said. He has people in mind for his backroom staff, though it is too soon to make any announcements.

One who will definitely be on board is his father, Frank Sr, but only in an unofficial capacity. “My dad will be an unpaid consultant, I expect,” Lampard said. “He’ll be in my ear all the time, I’m sure. I spoke to him about the great team Derby had in his day and he reeled off all the names.

“He said he couldn’t remember who the little centre-half who could play was but it turned out he meant Colin Todd. I don’t remember that team because I am too young but I’ve heard a lot about it. I get the feeling it had grit as well as quality.”

Lampard will put emphasis on a strong work ethic. “That’s what we will be trying to reproduce here. We already have quality in the team but if we can get fitter and work hard we can be as good as anyone in this league. It’s easy for me to talk but only if I am sitting here in 10 months after a successful season will I feel I have added to my achievements in football.”

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Derby do not have financial resources of the sort that saw Wolves promoted to the Premier League but Lampard is confident he can improve players on the training ground.

“Of course money helps you compete but not all the clubs that had good seasons in the Championship were wealthy ones,” he said. “Cardiff went up and Millwall and Preston came pretty close. What you do day in, day out in training can help you compete as well.”

As a distinguished international with 106 caps and a glittering club career with Chelsea, Lampard is aware of the pitfalls that can confront successful players taking their first steps in management – it comes as a shock to some of them that many of their charges do not have the same level of talent or natural aptitude.

“Everyone can improve, you don’t have to tell me that,” he said. “I’m someone who made the most of my career. I feel I worked hard to use every ounce of my ability.

“I went from being a chubby slow kid, as my dad used to call me, to an effective player who could get from box to box and score goals. I’m here to try to improve players in the same way. The first rule of football is hard work, everyone starts with a clean slate.”