Lampard plays down impact of managers’ touchline behaviour after Klopp red

Frank Lampard has played down the influence of Premier League managers amid a fresh debate over the impact of their touchline behaviour.

The issue hit the headlines once again after Jurgen Klopp was sent off for angrily remonstrating with a linesman as Liverpool beat Manchester City last Sunday.

That incident followed on from an ugly clash between Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte when Chelsea met Tottenham earlier this season.

Referees' charity Ref Support UK have subsequently called for an inquiry into the touchline antics of top-flight bosses, citing the recent postponement of Merseyside Youth League games due to abuse of officials as proof that a toxic culture is spreading through the game.

However, while Lampard accepted that he and other managers could perhaps behave better, he insisted individuals must take responsibility for themselves further down the pyramid.

He said: "We have a responsibility, I understand that, but there is also a microscope put on managers in the modern day where we are in highly pressurised jobs.

"It is easy for me to sit here in a calm moment and say we should be better in all these things but the amount of pressure we come under and the decisions that go against you...

"People talk about Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, two top managers, and Jurgen got a red card and said afterwards that maybe my reaction [was too much].

"We all know that situation and if you are trying to draw lines from that to someone on a Sunday league game and physically attacking a referee then that is just a personal responsibility from the person who has done that as it would be if they had done it on the street.

"I don’t draw that line. I understand our responsibility but I don't draw the line directly because I don’t see it much.

"I see managers in very high pressurised situations handling themselves really really well 99.9 percent of the time.

"I remember when Tuchel and Conte had it earlier in the season and afterwards it was: ‘This is great, this is what the Premier League is all about, passion and people showing themselves.’

"You cannot have everything in one go."