The manager of Chelsea football club, Frank Lampard, has insisted that his team is having it tough because most of the players at the club are young and they are yet to play together long enough.
Chelsea football club started the 2020-2021 season shakily but later picked themselves up and went straight to the top of the Premier League table after defeating Leeds United 3-1 on December 5.
Since then, the London club has been experiencing a steady decline to the extent the club has recorded 4 defeats in their last 7 league games. This retrogressive form has taken the club from the first spot on the league table to the 8th spot with 26 points in 17 league games.
Despite spending over £200 million to bring in football stars like Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Edouard Mendy, and Hakim Ziyech during the 2020 summer transfer window, the club has recorded 5 defeats, 5 draws, and 7 victories in 17 league games.
It has gotten so bad that Chelsea are now 7 points away from first-placed Liverpool and 15 points away from the relegation zone.
Though most pundits in the United Kingdom want Frank Lampard to be given more time at the club, it is gradually becoming a surprise that Chelsea have not sacked Lampard despite the consistent poor run.
On the part of the English tactician, he has insisted that he is ready to fight on despite the raging pressure. He said he was in a similar situation last season when he lost a couple of games at home even though it wasn’t as obvious as this season because of the amount he has spent on recruiting players.
Frank Lampard said: “I had tough periods last year, and maybe I had some mitigating circumstances where people didn’t view those home defeats here in the same way. To me they felt tough and rough as I am a perfectionist for this club and the first person to put pressure on myself is me, so I felt the pressure here last year.
“I wanted to push and finish even better than fourth, even though I feel it was a big achievement given the ban and the youth in the squad. We cruised through the Champions League group and went on a 16-game unbeaten run, which was something I always tried to temper as it went on. I played here for a long time so I understand the club, and if you lose four games in a period then people will ask questions.
“The expectations are different this year, as people are talking about how much money we spent. We’ve spent a lot of money but the reality is the players are young and have not played together.
“It’s the first time we’ve been able to play Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, and Timo Werner in the same team… and if we’re expecting the relationship between the three players to be the same as Silva, De Bruyne and Sterling today then those expectations aren’t real.
“I’m the man who has to be real and I was really after the Leeds win when I felt we weren’t title contenders. I’m real now when I say any rebuild takes pain, and I speak for other managers.
“I remember Pep Guardiola went through it in his first year at City, and now we know their story. You only build through fight and character.
“We know the stories of City and Liverpool and I’m not comparing myself to them. I can only talk about us, and the first half showed us why this is a difficult period for Chelsea. We have to keep fighting and I’m the first one who has to keep fighting.”
An honest assessment from the boss. pic.twitter.com/8DI4tL7Ub4
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 4, 2021
Chelsea’s next game is an FA Cup round three fixture against Championship side Morecambe scheduled for Sunday, January 10, at 14:30. Frank Lampard and his boys are expected to use the game to prepare for a Premier League match against Fulham on January 15.
