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Cape Town - Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini was full of praise
for Frank Lampard's performance on Sunday, but refused to be drawn into
discussion regarding the midfielder's long-term future at the Etihad
Stadium.
The reigning Premier League champions hoisted themselves up to second in the top flight this weekend after seeing off high flying Southampton 3-0 at St Mary's, with Lampard firing home either side of goals from Yaya Toure and Gael Clichy.
Lampard is currently on loan from the Citizens' sister club New York City FC, and is expected to return to the Major League Soccer side in January, although reports suggest Pellegrini could look to keep the former England international in Manchester until the end of the season.
However, the Chilean was uninterested in that topic of conversation, preferring to instead focus on his side's performance, which saw them condemn the Saints to their first home defeat of the campaign while also closing the gap on leaders Chelsea to six points.
"I repeat that I do not want to talk about this (Lampard's future at City) at the moment," Football411 quotes Pellegrini as saying.
"His presence is very important to the team, he was on the bench in midweek as he is a top player and so knows exactly how he must play football.
"You cannot teach Frank anything, just allow him to play in the way he knows and I am very glad for him as he is also a great person and a great professional."
An extension to Lampard's loan stay looks increasingly likely as Toure will be unavailable early next year due to his involvement with the Ivory Coast at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, although Pellegrini remained steadfast in his decision not to discuss any potential deal.
"I always try and keep the best players that I have in my team whenever possible, but I repeat that we are not talking about this at the moment as we are thinking about other things," he concluded.
The reigning Premier League champions hoisted themselves up to second in the top flight this weekend after seeing off high flying Southampton 3-0 at St Mary's, with Lampard firing home either side of goals from Yaya Toure and Gael Clichy.
Lampard is currently on loan from the Citizens' sister club New York City FC, and is expected to return to the Major League Soccer side in January, although reports suggest Pellegrini could look to keep the former England international in Manchester until the end of the season.
However, the Chilean was uninterested in that topic of conversation, preferring to instead focus on his side's performance, which saw them condemn the Saints to their first home defeat of the campaign while also closing the gap on leaders Chelsea to six points.
"I repeat that I do not want to talk about this (Lampard's future at City) at the moment," Football411 quotes Pellegrini as saying.
"His presence is very important to the team, he was on the bench in midweek as he is a top player and so knows exactly how he must play football.
"You cannot teach Frank anything, just allow him to play in the way he knows and I am very glad for him as he is also a great person and a great professional."
An extension to Lampard's loan stay looks increasingly likely as Toure will be unavailable early next year due to his involvement with the Ivory Coast at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, although Pellegrini remained steadfast in his decision not to discuss any potential deal.
"I always try and keep the best players that I have in my team whenever possible, but I repeat that we are not talking about this at the moment as we are thinking about other things," he concluded.
