https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/12/10/
frank-lampard-press-conference-ahead-of-everton
Lampard updates on Pulisic's condition, explains Ancelotti's influence and
assesses early title picture
10 Dec 2020
Frank Lampard has provided an update on the fitness of his squad ahead of
Saturday's trip to Everton, including news of why Christian Pulisic sat
out the Champions League draw with Krasnodar in midweek.
https://i.imgur.com/T7aZy38.jpg
The boss was speaking in his pre-match press conference via video link
from Cobham, where he also reflected on the early picture at the top of
the Premier League and on the influence of his former manager Carlo
Ancelotti, who he pits his wits against this weekend. However, he started
with an assessment of who is in contention to feature for the Blues at
Goodison Park on Saturday night.
'We're the same as we were in midweek,' revealed Lampard. 'Hakim Ziyech
and Callum [Hudson-Odoi] we know are out for around a couple of weeks.
'Christian Pulisic had a tiny bit of awareness off the back of the Leeds
game with one of his hamstrings but he's training normally so we should be
as we were,' Lampard went on. 'Christian is still a work in progress. I
don't want to call this an injury in midweek because if it had been a
different type of game then I might have used him.
https://i.imgur.com/MKqLkj7.jpg
'We know his abilities and he showed them when he came on against Leeds
last week. I just have to find the right way to get the best out of him
quickly and consistently.'
Lampard was asked about Jorginho's form following the Italian's return to
penalty-taking duties on Tuesday night…
'I didn't doubt his ability in taking penalties. It's normal when you take
as many for club and country as he does that you can miss. He missed a
couple in succession but, as we saw the other night, he's taking penalties
for us. He's confident in his style and I'm confident in that too so
that's not a problem.
'He's vice-captain of the club and he gives everything whenever he plays
and trains, and with how he acts, so I'm delighted with him.'
Another Italian, Carlo Ancelotti, was discussed prior to Lampard meeting
him in the dugout this weekend…
'I was heavily influenced by him as a player and as a man at the time.
He's right at the top when I speak about the managers that I worked with.
He's had huge success in his career at various clubs and one-to-one I
found him to be a great coach and a great man. I very much look forward at
all times to seeing him and speaking with him.'
There was talk about whether Chelsea would be involved in a potential
title race…
'I don't know. We're happy with where we are but I know there's a long way
to go. I don't think it matters too much about the rhetoric right now
because the words are not that important at this point.
'For us at Chelsea, it's about how much we keep working and understand
that consistency over a season is what wins titles, not matches up to the
middle of December.'
The boss also answered whether the Blues were ahead of expectations this
term…
'It was really hard to have clear expectations because of the variables at
the start of the season - the Covid times, pre-season, new signings, some
injuries, and I didn't know how that would pan out. The start of the
season was slightly false in terms of some of the performances and
results, and at the moment we're getting very good performances and
results.
'The reality is we're probably somewhere in the middle of that. We need to
make sure that consistency is something we find going forward. I'm not
sure where we are compared to expectations but I always want more.'
With the Champions League group stage now concluded, focus can turn
completely to the league for the next few weeks…
'That's why it was very important for us to win our group, get a real
confidence boost from that and then put it away until the new year. We can
now focus on what is a busy schedule and if you look at our next four
games – Everton, Wolves, West Ham and then Arsenal on Boxing Day – you
see exactly how challenging that is in a short space of time.
'It's important to focus and it's important for the squad to understand
that this Premier League is so tough and unforgiving that if we drop our
standards, we won't be where we want to be.'