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Ahead of the start of the new MLS season, Sky Sports caught up with Frank Lampard to hear about life under New York City boss Patrick Vieira, playing with Andrea Pirlo and the prospect of facing old team-mate Ashley Cole. The former Chelsea and England midfielder is braced for his first full season in the States, having joined NYCFC last summer, midway through their inaugural term.Lampard and his team-mates kick-off Sky Sports live MLS coverage with a trip to Chicago Fire on Sunday and after a full pre-season under his belt, he told Geoff Shreeves he is gunning for silverware in 2016... What are your thoughts on Patrick Vieira being named the new New York City manager?I think hes going to be great for us. I obviously played against Patrick. Hes probably one of the greatest players in the modern era of the Premier League. Ive seen him coaching at Manchester City for the last few years.Fair play to him because people who have been great players dont always want to go and do the dirty work. Hes worked with the kids on cold Manchester mornings at the back of the training ground. Ive seen them do it and hes certainly earned his stripes there. Patrick Vieira wants New York City to reflect every aspect of his playing career For us, I hope he ups our level. The players will respect him and when he speaks they will listen because of what hes done in the game.What do New York City need to progress?We need to work hard. Pre-season is massive for us because its five to six weeks where we can really work individually to get fit. Looking back on our first year as a team, you throw 20 players in and you hope it happens straight away. It doesnt always work that way so we need to work hard as a group on how we play, defend as a team and attack as a team.Then the massive thing for us will be the start. We start away in Chicago and then weve got four games at home. We need to start well because we were playing catch-up all last season which is desperate stuff. Id like us to start well and be confident from the beginning. When you are in a city like New York and you are a football club for the city, you have got to be successful. Its a serious place and you cant be a bottom of the league team. Frank Lampard How have the New York City fans taken to you?Its been really good. Living in New York, Ive felt very welcome in the city and felt very welcome by the fans. Theyve been great. Weve had quite a few games when weve not played well at home and lost the game. They never stopped supporting us, didnt stop coming the next week and I felt their support personally. They support all the individual players.This year its time to give back a bit. Not just me but the whole team. We need to play well and get some wins. When you are in a city like New York and you are a football club for the city, you have got to be successful. Its a serious place and you cant be a bottom of the league team. We need to go and win something. You say its a serious place but I did see you have a chuckle when the New York Red Bulls fans held up the banner of you and Andrea Pirlo with walking sticks...That was nice. I looked at Pirlo before the game and we pointed at the big banner there. I was gutted because I went clear through early in the game but hit my shot wide. I was desperate to score and do the old man with the walking stick celebration.NYCFCs season was a bit like your own, a stuttering start. Do you feel like you are making a fresh start?I do. It was well documented I came late. I got injured straight away and missed six weeks to two months in the end. I was playing catch-up myself. Now Ive got a great chance to have a good pre-season and Andrea Pirlo is here from the beginning as well. Frank Lampard scored inside a minute for New York City Im confident actually. I think weve got a good squad and I think we are going to add to it and change it further. I know theres a bit of talk about a few drafts and how we are going to change the team and the squad. Generally, I hope well have a good season and the play-offs are a must for us.Youve played against him and now alongside him, Pirlo, how good is he?Hes a great player. I knew he was a great player from playing against him. His passing and awareness are second to none. Hell receive the ball anywhere and its great to play alongside someone like that. The weight of his pass, his through balls and confidence on the ball are superb. NYCFC need to get Andrea Pirlo on the ball more often, says Lampard Our problem last year and a problem for him was that we didnt get him on the ball enough. When youve got a player who is so good at dictating play we need to try and get him on the ball as much as we can, then he will find people with his passing.From talking to the likes of Kaka, David Villa and Pirlo, they are not just here for the ride and for the money, they still have that same mentality. They want to win trophies.Its an easy thing to throw at the MLS. Were guilty of doing it in England where we say players go there because they are old and its nowhere near as good as the Premier League.Firstly, you cant compare it to the Premier League. Its established and probably the best league in the world for us. Secondly, when you get behind the scenes in the MLS and speak to players, they are coming in to win. You dont want to embarrass yourself. Steven Gerrard and Andrea Pirlo are two of the other big names in the MLS If you come in with the attitude that its easy then you will embarrass yourself because the league is competitive, the players are fit, its a very level playing field and week in week out you can lose games as easily as you can win them. And youre right, players like David Villa, hes really upset when we lose games. He wants to do better. We want to walk away from here when we finish this experience and say we won something.Ashley Cole is joining LA Galaxy. Will MLS suit him and will he suit the MLS?It works both ways. Hes a quality and experienced player. I would have loved to have had him at New York, lets put it that way because you just cannot buy that experience. Hes still fit and hes still hungry for success. Ive spoken to him about it and I know hes still hungry. Ashley Cole joined LA Galaxy during the off-season It will definitely be a fit for both. If he comes here and plays with the quality hes got it will certainly be a help for his team. The MLS should be happy also. Its another huge name coming here.How aware are you of the profile and the awareness of MLS growing, even in the short time youve been here?Im very aware of it. Ive been told the stats shows that its the fastest growing sport in America but you can feel the people that are watching it. The fact we are watching it back home in England, the fact we are sitting here and there people from all over the world that are covering the MLS.Big names are coming here and I think more and more big names will come here. The league is growing and that makes it exciting to be a part of. When you come here you have to first of all be successful on the pitch, but you have to take on the responsibility of helping the league to grow.Apart from the stellar names, could you pick out three players that we can look out for in the MLS this season?I can and thats the strength of the MLS. There are actually some players that I wasnt completely aware of that have played. I remember we went to Dallas last year and they had two great wingers, who were quick and tricky on the ball. One of them was Fabian Castillo. Hes a player to watch.One at New York is Kwadwo Poku. Hes a good story. He came from the lower leagues and got plucked out. Hes got raw talent. Hes good on the ball, hes exciting, he can make things happen and I think he can develop his game. Hopefully, Vieira and us around him can help him do that. Bradley Wright-Phillips has been a prolific goalscorer for New York Red Bulls After that Ill go with Bradley Wright-Phillips. Hes a player we all know. We know his dad and a bit about his career. He didnt have a huge career in the Premier League but fair play to him, hes come to the MLS and prolifically scored goals every season hes been here. The 2016 MLS season kicks off this Sunday with Chicago Fire v New York City and Portland Timbers v Columbus Crew live on Sky Sports 1 from 7:05pm Watch the MLS live on Sky Sports, starting with Chicago Fire v New York City FC, live on Sky Sports 1 from 7pm on Sunday March 6 or via our live blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports apps. Also See: Gerrard targets MLS glory MLS: Five Brits to watch Which MLS team should you support? MLS has come a long way Ronnie Stanley Jersey . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. Eric Zeier Jersey . After a replay, the winner will meet Sunderland in the quarterfinals. Sagbo did well to control Sone Alukos right cross and fire past Brighton goalkeeper Peter Brezovan. Aluko was making his first start in four months after recovering from an Achilles injury. http://www.customravensjersey.com/custom-duane-starks-jersey-large-323d.html . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. Matthew Judon Jersey . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Mark Clayton Jersey . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. RIO DE JANEIRO -- The U.S. rugby teams medal hopes in the mens sevens are over after it was knocked out of the competition by Fiji at the pool stage in the Rio Olympics.After losing to Argentina and then beating Brazil on Day 1, the U.S. knew that a win, a tie or a loss by three or fewer points against Fiji would put the team in the quarterfinals at the expense of New Zealand. But after a roller-coaster match against Ben Ryans Fiji squad, the U.S. team eventually slumped to a 24-19 defeat.The loss was a huge disappointment to coach Mike Friday and his team, who headed into the Games targeting gold with Nate Ebner of the Super Bowl champion?New England Patriots?and speedsters Carlin Isles and Perry Baker on the squad.?Danny Barrett scored first for the U.S. against Fiji, but the Americans went into the break trailing 12-7. Perry Baker then struck early in the second half, only to have the Islanders cross twice to take a 24-14 lead.A late try from Ebner gave the U.S. hope, and if Madison Hughes had slotted the conversion, the U.S. would have booked a spot in the knockouts at the expense of the Kiwis, but Hughes kick misssed.ddddddddddddThe U.S. beat Brazil 24-12 on Wednesday afternoon and will finish the competition either ninth or 10th, depending on the result of their match against Spain on Thursday.?Weve come from being given less than a 10 percent chance of even making the Olympics to being here and being contenders, Friday said, according to USARugby.org. Im disappointed for the lads and Im disappointed for the USA people because weve got a great game here, and the USAs embracing it. We have a good team here, three years ahead of schedule, but we were hoping -- and we set our standards -- to be in the main competition come the end of today.?Ebner said the exposure the Olympics provided rugby in the United States was huge for the sport.We got here and tried to give this everything that we have, he said, according to USARugby.org. Hopefully the American people see how great of a sport this really is. Its going to be up to America and the people in the United States, how they respond to what theyve seen. ' ' '