John Terry gets Lampard backing amid Derby job links

 Frank Lampard believes John Terry could be the ideal man to lift Derby County from the doldrums.

Although Wayne Rooney is in interim charge at Pride Park, there is no guarantee the former Manchester United striker will become permanent manager of the Championship club.

Now 39-year-old Terry, who is assistant manager at Aston Villa, is being linked with the job.

It would be a first experience of being manager of a club for the former Chelsea and England captain, a team-mate of Lampard with club and country.

But with Lampard having spent a year as Derby boss before being handed the Stamford Bridge top job, he sees it as an ideal club for Terry.

"I think John is destined to be a manager. He is obviously working very well alongside Dean Smith over the last few years at Aston Villa, so would have been learning a lot," Lampard said.

"But what John knows and his experiences in the game as a player will be huge, I know that from playing alongside him so long what he has to offer.

"I think it is a great opportunity potentially for him if true and for Derby."

Former England manager Steve McClaren has been helping out Rooney, but it remains to be seen if the club's owners wish to retain that partnership.

Terry may be seen as a man with not only the passion but the right kind of coaching experience to step in and lift the club off the foot of the table.

Speaking in a Chelsea news conference on Tuesday, Lampard added: "John will be a hungry, ambitious manager, whether it's Derby or whatever other opportunities come his way as he goes along.

"I don't know anything [about the Derby link] but John is going to be a fantastic coach in my opinion."