Blues manager Frank Lampard has watched his team lose successively to Everton and Wolves, and he needs to boost his players up ahead of Monday’s derby with West Ham.
Lampard has directed his stars not to let a small stutter impede their title race charge when Chelsea host West Ham next after suffering surprise back-to-back defeats against Wolves and Everton as he insists his previously in-form outfit have no reason to suddenly lose faith in their ability to challenge for the biggest prize in the English game.
The three-time Premier League winner as a Chelsea player, said:
“The confidence has to remain because we were playing very well.
“The table is very tight, we’re much closer to the top than we were last year, so we just need to remind ourselves a little bit of all the great things we were doing before those games.
“It’s of massive importance. It’s going to be a test of the players and a test of myself – because it’s my job first to pick the players up.
“You could say we were in great form and we just dropped off a level in two games and got punished.
“The basic demands of football – high-speed runs, sprints and being competitive – we dropped our level 15 or 20 per cent.”
Lampard admits senior players such as Thiago Silva are vital in ensuring an otherwise relatively-young squad keeps its morale high.
He added:
“I’ll always take the first responsibility, it’s important to say that. But there’s obviously an element of collective about it.
“The realism is we are not a Liverpool of last year or a Manchester City of the year before where you can just go out and win, win, win, win, win.
“You have to be ready for some tough moments.”
Credit: Football Tribe Malaysia
