Lampard backing on-loan midfielder Mount to climb to the top

Posted Sunday, August 26, 2018 by PA

Frank Lampard tipped Mason Mount to go to the top of the game after his third goal of the season set Derby on course for a 2-0 win over Preston.

The on-loan Chelsea midfielder also took the corner that Richard Keogh headed in for Derby’s second, although Preston goalkeeper Declan Rudd was at fault for both goals.

Mount’s display caught the eye of Derby manager Lampard, who believes the 19-year-old can be “top, top level” and a genuine “contender” for his parent club when he returns to Stamford Bridge.

“They were getting a bit rough with him in the first part of the game, they were getting tough with him and I wanted him to react and the best way to react is with a goal so credit to him,” the former Chelsea and England midfielder said.

“He can be really good, he can be top, top level because he’s 19 and plays with ability and quality, technically he’s brilliant but also his work-rate shouldn’t go unnoticed.

“He’s so quick to leave midfield to go and press people whether it be defenders or deep-lying midfield players which makes you the all-round midfield player.

“He should never be considered a number 10 because there’s so much more to his game but he’ll score goals like a number 10.

“At some stage he will go back to Chelsea, I don’t want to think about that now, but when he does I think he’s going to be a contender.”

Derby’s win, their third of the season, leaves the Rams with nine points from five games.

However, it might have been a different story if Preston forward Callum Robinson had scored from 12 yards in the 29th minute.

Derby survived that scare, though, and took the lead in the 38th minute when Mount scored with a low shot that squeezed under Rudd.

Graham Burke curled a shot narrowly wide at the start of the second half but Preston lacked a genuine threat in the final third and after Mason Bennett had a shot saved, their former striker David Nugent saw a 20-yard shot deflected behind.

Preston made a double change to try and get back in it but Derby scored a second in the 78th minute to make the game safe.

Mount delivered a deep corner and Keogh’s downward header defeated Rudd at his near post when the keeper should have done better.

Preston manager Alex Neil admitted his team’s lack of a cutting edge was again behind a second consecutive away defeat.

“The first goal was going to be a big factor in the game and I thought it came at a stage when we were on top,” he said.

“For the first 40 minutes of the match I was really pleased with how we performed and we nicked the ball in really good areas high up the pitch, but from that point onwards our quality in terms of breaking on them wasn’t as good as it should have been.

“At the moment we are struggling to score goals and when you concede goals naturally the lads are going to be a bit disappointed.

“But if you look at the team we are a young side and they gave us everything they had, but if we want to try and hit the heights of last year we need to turn potential into quality on the pitch and we need to make sure that certainly going forward we’ve got more of a cutting edge.”