Frank Lampard spoke to the media ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League clash against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon
“I don’t know about the greatest, that’s a hard debate but they are clearly a fantastic team and they have been for a long while now so huge credit to them for that consistency. For doing it year in year out on those levels they are coming very close to becoming the greatest team and obviously the cherry on the top would be to keep winning and win the Champions League etc etc. On the form they are in you wouldn’t want to bet against them on anything
“Credit to the club – I worked there for a year and understand it quite well – the manager and the players because it is a really smooth, strong machine and I have full respect for them.”
Thought about a guard of honour?
“When it’s done? I haven’t but we could do. I remember getting that as a player and it was something that was very respectful so I would have no problem with that at all.”
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Everton draw help your preparation for this game?
“A little bit but it is different players and a different situation here. City are in a different moment themselves so there are lots of contributing factors as to how we want to prepare for this.”
Haaland 36 Prem goals, whole Chelsea squad 36 goals…
“It’s a fantastic stat from him, I know the Chelsea side of it is another story. I have huge respect for the player – he is a player I tried to bring to Chelsea the first time I was here. I was really keen to get him here, obviously it couldn’t happen but his level at that point was very clear as well.
“We played against him in a pre-season game at Salzburg and he was fantastic. Credit to him, I love seeing players at that level and with that personality and hunger to be the best, which he has proved himself to be.
“In terms of dealing with him you obviously have to have a plan – players at that level can make anything happen at any level so you have to be at your best to try to negate the things he does.”
Learn a lot in the difficult moments, what have you learned upon your return?
“Some simple things more than detail. To compete in the Premier League you have to have big motivation, big training ethics, big standards at the club or it is very difficult. I kind of knew that anyway because I played here for a long time but unless you have those things the tactical detail and the edge will not matter because no game plan ever works without intensity. That has always been so in football and will do even more so as the game becomes faster.”
Could you compare Haaland’s impact to a former Chelsea striker?
“I couldn’t compare him to Didier because they are two different individuals in different moments at their clubs but of course as a Chelsea person Didier had that impact over a long period of time and Haaland has just started out. He has perhaps been more instant and that is a big credit to him, doing that coming straight into the Premier League – some people doubted that a little bit. He has proven that but Didier over a sustained period did huge things for this club. I don’t think there is a direct comparison but they are both obviously great strikers.”
Mikel Arteta said Man City were arguably the best team in the world, are they good for English football?
I don’t think at this moment you can argue with that, I understand Mikel saying it. I think they are the best team in the world. Is it good for English football? Yeah, why not. You have to push the standards of the league and others have to react to that. We have this incredible brand here where the league improves year on year as far as I see the competitive nature of staying in the league, making the top four and Manchester City have set the standards. The rest of the league have to try to aspire to be that. It’s not easy because they’ve done things very clinically in a really good way over a number of years. If we all take away our rivalry feelings, if you are a rival of Manchester City, you can’t be anything but impressed by the nature of their game, how they play, especially watching them the other night. It was fantastica to watch. I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all.”
Barometer for Chelsea next season?
I think it’s hard to call them a direct barometer because when you say set standards, that’s a casual look at it. Standards have to start at the beginning. For me standards are every player that is in that squad is pushing to get into the team, the players know that they if they don’t have intensity and don’t run, the next man will come in and do it. That’s something to be worked on in terms of recruitment and how you build a squad and how you build a mentality. If that’s the barometer, there’s a lot of work to do for us here to try and get to that.”
Returning to Chelsea – enjoyed it?
“I have enjoyed it. I get asked it a lot. You always want to get results but you have to be realistic in football. When I came into this, a Champions League dream that everyone talked to me about when I first come. ‘It’s been done before, can we do it again?’ the realistic answer is we are where we are in the league for a reason. Our view at that point was to try and beat Madrid and then possible City to get to the final That was a difficult one.
“The rest of the job is how many small wins can I try to impact behind the scenes. You can’t always impact results. Generally there’s a lot of work to do here. You can have little small impacts on individuals within the group because I have a big feeling for the club, when I walk away I want to be able to say I’ve done that. I enjoy coming to work trying to improve players and the ones that want to be improved and are good to work with, I think they will all have impressive careers here going forward.”
Did you think Erling Haaland would hit the ground running like he has?
“I think he’s special. I thought he’d adapt straight away..
“I didn’t consider it that closely but I just think with the level of player and his record of scoring firstly in Austria, secondly for his country and then in the Bundesliga which is not an easy league, to come into a really good unit already, that’s a recipe to really help him. The rest is credit to himself and the team around him. I did expect that, an easy hindsight answer, I’ve just got a respect for the player.”
How much do you think what if?
“I don’t know whether he would’ve decided to come here anyway, I was a big fan of that. There are some of those that happen that people don’t know about or could have been this way. People talk about mistakes, whether he would have come I don’t know but I was pushing big and on a few other players but he was the outstanding one.”
Did it get close?
“He will only know the answer to that.”
How much of an opportunity to catch Man City distracted?
“I don’t think so. They look like a good team that are in a really good run of form and have got a lot of motivation and have shown it in their games. Who knows how the game pans out on the day but at the same time when you see them churning out these wins and performances with a really strong squad you have to expect the best version of Manchester City. So I expect the best version of ourselves in terms of our performance. Whether we win the game or whatever the players have to put in a performance to show respect for ourselves and pride in playing for Chelsea.”
Disrupt the title race?
“I’m not interested in that personally. The players shouldn’t be either. They should worry about the responsibility of themselves going to play. That’s the title race, it’s a race between Man City and Arsenal, there’s no eyes on it from that one.”
What stage did a move for Haaland get to?
“What stage did it get to? From our point, I was pushing it. I’m not sure what the appetite everywhere else at the club was to do it. The competition was big because he was an outstanding player. I think there was a buyout clause at the time that was relatively reasonable considering the player. I don’t have enough detail to know how close it was.”
Team news?
“We’re pretty much similar to where we have been recently in terms of Mason, Reece, Chilly, N’Golo, Marc Cucurella not fit. Kouli has been training this week, but probably not really ready for a game like this. He’s ahead of schedule to be fair. Benoit has injured himself in training two days ago, his groin and will miss the game. We’re assessing that now as we speak.”
Do you have a reaction to Mauricio Pochettino’s widely reported and expected appointment?
“Not if it’s not official, no.”
Have you spoken to him?
“No.”
Source: football.london
