“When Frank met me for the first time, we talked about this opportunity and even then we knew at some stage this was going to happen [him being offered the Chelsea job], we just didn’t know when,” Morris told talkSPORT.
“So we talked about that and we both probably thought it would be some way off and, let’s face it, right now it’s still not a done deal.
“Let’s be blunt, as far as I’m concerned I’m hoping this guy is going to manage us next season. I’m not giving up hope on that at the moment.
“But you’d have to say at some point it will happen – whether it’s now or some point in the future.
“The players come back in on Monday, so we’re in a situation where if something does happen this week, Frank will be our manager next week and we’ll kick on with the season from Monday onwards.
“That makes it very tight in terms of timescale for us, that should Frank move to Chelsea we’ve got to get our skates on.
“That’s never easy, but of course we’ve had to turn our attention to, ‘what happens if Frank does go?'”
Asked if he would prefer Lampard to see out his job with Derby before making the next step in his coaching career, Morris added: “Sure, you would love for that to happen, but the last thing you want if someone had a desire to do that, you don’t want them looking over their shoulder either.
“Also, if you become obstructive in these situations it’s not going to bode well for the future.
“I have a great relationship with Frank. To me, our relationship with Frank and our relationship with Chelsea is really important, and it’s critical we maintain the integrity of that.
“I have no regrets about Frank, whether he stays or goes. If he stays, fantastic, we’ll be in better shape next season than we were in this one for all sorts of reasons – the learning curve, the style of play being established etc.”
The Derby chief was also asked if he would have blocked Lampard’s exit more rigorously if it was any other club that came in for the manager’s services.
And his answer was yes, admitting the Blues job is almost an impossible chance to turn down.
“Would I have stood in his way more if was any other club?
“I think I probably would have been more critical about, ‘why make this move’?
“Let’s say it was a low-half Premier League coming along, I would have said: ‘Listen, another season with us and maybe we’ll be there, maybe two seasons, whatever it takes. Building something is worth doing’.
“But this is one of the top jobs in football and we have to respect that.
“It’s a huge decision for Chelsea – any manager decision is, it was for us last year but I’ve got no regrets, however this works out.”
Simon Jordan, the former Crystal Palace owner, joined Morris in the studio and explained the problem which can arise if a manager who wants to leave is forced to stay in charge.
But Morris insisted Lampard would be welcomed back with open arms if the Chelsea talks fail.
“That’s a welcome problem at this point in time,” he said.
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