A relieved Frank Lampard encouraged his players to chill and celebrate with a beer or glass of wine after Chelsea advanced a \u201csmall step forward\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Success on the south coast was Lampard\u2019s 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\u2019s early header at Vitality Stadium.<\/p>\n
The former England and Chelsea iconic midfielder urged his team to embrace the club\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey should enjoy it and we\u2019re happy because when you don\u2019t have that feeling for a while, it gradually knocks you down,\u201d said Lampard.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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\u2019s been tough.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday was a nice small step forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lads are all human, we\u2019re all affected in similar ways when you\u2019re not winning games or you don\u2019t feel like you\u2019re at your best and the only way to get through that is to fight and to work through it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in relative periods where they\u2019re tough, so absolutely they should enjoy tonight and have a beer or have a glass of wine or do whatever they do.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we cannot take our foot of the pedal in terms of trying to take steps forward until the end of this season because it\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Lampard is seeking to help rebuild the bond between fans and players.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur fans were fantastic today so I personally appreciate their support,\u201d said Lampard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI appreciate we had a moment on the end of the pitch where everyone feels good for a day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s important to build a connection between players and fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpinion can always change in a period but Hakim and Raheem want to do well, as football players they\u2019ve got big talent both of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think their class is permanent and I\u2019m pleased for them for having some impact when they came on.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"