Lampard on injury latest, Tottenham, Mourinho, Kepa and the mood among Chelsea players
Frank Lampard spoke about a number of issues at a news conference on the eve of Chelsea’s derby clash with Tottenham. Here’s some of what the Blues boss had to say.
On Tammy Abraham
“Tammy Abraham has trained the last two days, probably at around 70%, and hasn’t trained much recently. He’s in the squad but I have to make a decision on whether he’s fit.”
On N’Golo Kante
“N’Golo is not fit. It’s a muscle injury, similar to the one he came off against Arsenal with. It should be, hopefully, three weeks – something around that.”
On Christian Pulisic
“Christian Pulisic is still not fit. At the moment I can’t give an exact date (when he’ll be back). It’s a difficult injury and we’re working with that.”
On Ruben Loftus-Cheek
“Ruben is in the squad. He’s not fit to start but it’s great to have him in the squad.”
On Andreas Christensen
“Andreas went to get a mask that he’s now got for a broken nose. He’s available for selection, albeit with a mask.
“He trained two days at a pretty good level where there’s contact and heading to do. We have to be guided by him a little bit – how he is. He’s been playing well. Andreas is in great form. We’ll have to see.
“I’ll speak with him just to make sure he’s ready, because this is going to be a battle and as a centre-back you need to be confident that you can take contact.”
On Tottenham’s injury problems
“With Tottenham, they’re on a good run of form. Clearly an incredible player like Harry Kane is a miss, and now Son is a miss.
“But the stats when Mauricio Pochettino was manager and Harry Kane was injured – they remained a force because they had players that could fill in.
“They have players like Dele Alli, whose game is from slightly behind and to try and break lines. Lucas Moura similarly has qualities. Steven Bergwijn has come in and has those qualities.
“I’ve watched a lot of them recently and they’re a threat. And this is a London derby against Tottenham; whatever team they put out they will always be a threat. They have attacking players that can cause us problems.”
On how Chelsea fans might react to Jose Mourinho
“I don’t know. He’s coming here as Tottenham manager and it’s clear he wants his team to win.
“Chelsea fans, first and foremost, will back us. I don’t know how they’ll be with him.”
On reports he is at odds with the Chelsea hierarchy over dropping Kepa
“Certainly not. I think that fills a lot of headlines for people. I’m absolutely together with all of the club and the board because we all want the best and I am paid to make the decisions.
“With form, I have to consider the goalkeeping position, along with all positions, and recently it (his selection) has changed. It’s nothing final.
“The ‘keeper’s union’ have to stick together and Kepa has been great in his support of Willy (Caballero) in this moment.
“All he (Kepa) needs to do is train and show a great attitude – as I demand of all the players – and things can obviously change.
“All I want is the best for the team, so it’s not worth hanging too much on one individual position. I have to pick a team I think it’s the strongest team.”
On Michy Batshuayi
“It’s difficult because he had a couple of chances (against United) and strikers will always be judged on goals – that’s just the nature of the beast.
“We know that at home we’ve created so many chances and haven’t finished them. That’s not just Michy. That’s a team issue.
“But what you do have to do is be strong and tough. If you’re going to play for Chelsea you’re going to have to take what comes with it sometimes.”
On Olivier Giroud
“He had a very difficult December. It was a difficult position for a player to be in.
“When I spoke to him just before the break he said himself that he needed a few weeks to get properly fit.
“That’s why he wasn’t really available to start against Manchester United. But the way he’s worked this week, he’s available to start, and he needs to keep doing what he’s doing.”
On the mood among the players
“Good. Very good. A day off on Tuesday, which was needed. The frustration for them is that we didn’t win against Manchester United when we played a lot of good stuff. We just need to keep working.
“Whenever there’s a difficult time in the season – and other than Liverpool this season, pretty much everyone will have had difficult moments like we’re going through in the last four or five games – you have to show what you’re made of.
“The players have looked in a good mood and good form and they need to show it against Tottenham.”
