Everton boss Frank Lampard reveals he studied Patrick Vieira

Frank Lampard studied today's FA Cup quarter-final rival Patrick Vieira before deciding to make his own transition from elite midfielder into management.

Lampard ended his illustrious playing career at New York City FC when Vieira was in charge and seeing the Frenchman operate at close quarters influenced his own decision to stay in football.

'Being with him in New York was really enjoyable,' revealed Lampard.

'I was 38 and starting to see things differently. I was inquisitive about how he worked.

'He put a lot of effort into his pathway, first with Man City under- 23s, studying a lot. I was really impressed with him.'

Vieira and Lampard were part of a golden generation of Premier League midfielders that also included Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes.

Vieira has impressed in management at Palace this season while Lampard is leading Everton's bid to stay in the Premier League. Their cup run is a welcome distraction.

Financially, neither man needs to work in such a pressured environment but Lampard is glad top players want to take up the hot seat.

'The two obvious routes after playing are media and management and management is harder by a long shot,' said Lampard.

'Sometimes the culture shock of going from being a player who arrives at 9am and leaves by 1.30pm to being a coach with longer hours hits you.

'You need to work the hours to get the licence and then the hours of work are a very different life.

'Some people see that as a turn off and want to go back to the media. That is fair enough. But there are a lot of us who are determined.

'I feel the reason I want to manage is because of the managers I worked with. 

'We moved from that era where it was always a British manager - my first was Harry Redknapp who I