A relieved Frank Lampard encouraged his players to chill and celebrate with a beer or glass of wine after Chelsea advanced a “small step forward” to halt their six-match losing streak with a timely, much-needed 3-1 win at Bournemouth as late goals from Benoit Badiashile and Joao Felix finally salvaged a long-overdue victory for the Blues.
Success on the south coast was Lampard’s first since making a comeback to Stamford Bridge as the interim manager a month ago and this win was certainly a fitting tribute to cap his 100th game in Premier League management. Cherries defender Matias Vina cancelled out Conor Gallagher’s early header at Vitality Stadium.
The former England and Chelsea iconic midfielder urged his team to embrace the club’s first triumph in almost two months while cautioning restraint that they could not take the foot off the pedal going into their final four fixtures of what has been an appallingly lackluster campaign.
“They should enjoy it and we’re happy because when you don’t have that feeling for a while, it gradually knocks you down,” said Lampard.
“It was very evident in the dressing room from coming in that there was a lot of picking up that needed to be done and unfortunately you need results to come in line with that to keep you stepping forward, so that’s been tough.
“Today was a nice small step forward.
“The lads are all human, we’re all affected in similar ways when you’re not winning games or you don’t feel like you’re at your best and the only way to get through that is to fight and to work through it.
“I’ve been in relative periods where they’re tough, so absolutely they should enjoy tonight and have a beer or have a glass of wine or do whatever they do.
“But we cannot take our foot of the pedal in terms of trying to take steps forward until the end of this season because it’s important.”
This most timely victory in Dorset moved the two-time European champions on to 42 points, three ahead of their hosts, albeit remaining in the bottom half of the table.
Lampard is seeking to help rebuild the bond between fans and players.
“Our fans were fantastic today so I personally appreciate their support,” said Lampard.
“I appreciate we had a moment on the end of the pitch where everyone feels good for a day.
“I think that’s important to build a connection between players and fans.
“Opinion can always change in a period but Hakim and Raheem want to do well, as football players they’ve got big talent both of them.
“I think their class is permanent and I’m pleased for them for having some impact when they came on.”