Everton boss has admitted he contacted now Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard to pick his brains about talented right-back Nathan Patterson.

The pair face off this weekend as the two Premier League clubs clash but the pair remain on good terms from their playing days.

The Scotland defender emerged into the Rangers team under the Scouser before his £16.5m move to Merseyside.

And Lampard looked to his old England teammate to get the inside track on the youngster when he arrived.

He said: “We messaged each other and met up a few times through circumstances and chatted about the job. And every job is different, every job is consuming.

"So we didn’t go into too much of it. I spoke to him when I came in here, and the experience of working with Nathan Patterson.

"I wanted to get his opinion about Pats. I respect Stevie’s word, on what he thinks about football and just generally."

Lampard added: "I think we are both very driven. We've both had a plan of what we want to do. Stevie's a hard-worker and I'm delighted he did so well at Rangers and now he's at a club with the quality of Aston Villa."