Frank Lampard has discussed the toils of management with his former England team-mate Steven Gerrard in the buildup to a weekend in which the pair take charge of their maiden league matches, with the former admitting the football “bug” lured him into his post at Derby County.

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Lampard, who retired after a 21-year playing career in 2016, will face a former Chelsea assistant manager, Paul Clement, in the dugout on Friday evening when Derby visit Reading in the Championship season opener. Rangers travel to Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

“We were texting back and forth discussing the mad life of management and how we both see it,” Lampard said. “We are both the same, we are enjoying every minute of it. It’s strange and you can’t switch off because you want to do so well, that’s certainly how I feel. Some days you can’t switch off which means giving it every moment of the day and I’m sure Steven will be the same because I know how competitive he is.”

Asked why he and Gerrard, who has signed a four-year contract with the Scottish club, decided to swap a comfortable lifestyle – with both having worked as TV pundits – for the pressures of management, the 40-year-old said: “Because you miss the bug. It [punditry] is comfortable though there is pressure because you want to do the job as best you can, but when you’ve been competitive for a long time as a player you miss it. I couldn’t settle for that easy life when there was an opportunity to come and do this.

“We both had long careers that do give you a certain standing and I don’t dispute that but, at the same time, we’ve worked very hard to be in a position to be offered these jobs. I am under no illusions; I know I will be judged on results, style of play. We’ll ask for patience but results will define us.”

After taking the job in May, the former Chelsea midfielder who called time on his career after two years at New York City, some of it on loan at Manchester City, received messages from José Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, as well as Clement, whose first job as a manager was also at Derby, in 2015.

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Clement said: “I saw him when he was a player out in the United States, we met up. We have had the odd text. When the fixture came out, I said: ‘Nice first game.’ And he said: ‘You could have predicted it would happen.

“I have got no doubt Frank will be good – not because he played at a high level – but because, if you talk to him about football and see what he is like on TV, the way he gets his message across which is very important. He has got brilliant knowledge of the game; some players have played at a high level but still don’t have a great knowledge of the game. He does, and he is able to transmit that information well because he speaks very articulately. I have got no doubt he is going to be a success – just hopefully not on the first day of the season.”

Lampard could hand the loan signings Harry Wilson and Mason Mount their debuts, while George Evans could feature against his former club following a £1m switch. David Nugent is expected to lead the line for Derby in the absence of last season’s top scorer, Matej Vydra, with the striker – who failed to agree personal terms on a proposed £11m move to Leeds United – yet to return to full fitness. Tom Huddlestone and George Thorne are doubts with groin and back injuries respectively, and the young forward Luke Thomas, who impressed in pre-season, has a minor calf problem.