Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi admits the return of Jody Morris as manager Frank Lampard's No2 has been key to their form this season.

Hudson-Odoi paid tribute to their powers of motivation after the club were prevented from making any signings last summer ­because of a transfer ban.

“Jody has a great bond with the Academy, he knows all the players and all the staff over there," Hudson-Odoi said.

“I think he knows when they're ready to come up and when they're ready to train and be involved.

“He's helped bring all the players up and he's made everybody aware that, if you're doing well and working hard in training, then you'll get the opportunity to play.

“It gives you a ­special feeling to work extra hard because you want to be playing in games, you want to be playing in any match possible.

“You just have the feeling that, if Jody's there, he's going to try and push the young players to come through."

The teenager is now driven to earn the right to play in next season's elite European competition.

"When you hear the anthem of the Champions League coming on, you feel the buzz and you know it's something different," he said.

“It's just the emotion of knowing that it is such a ­massive competition.

“You want to be involved in it, you want to do the best you can in the competition, and you want to win it.

“Just to have the opportunity to play in it for such a massive club like Chelsea is great because you want to be performing on the big stage."