Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic has admitted he was not a fan of training under Maurizio Sarri.

The Blues midfielder earned a permanent move in the summer, despite being inconsistent during his loan spell under Sarri.

But he believes that he has come alive this season because of the way Frank Lampard coaches the players.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, Kovacic said: "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 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.

"Zidane was similar to the way Frank Lampard is a coaching, and their approaches really suits."