Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has insisted that the squad will be given time off despite their dire run of results since the international break. It was widely expected that Lampard would haul Chelsea’s players in for extra training but he has now confirmed that he will not do that and has instead sympathized with the blues squad.
Chelsea slipped to a fourth defeat in five league matches with Saturday’s 1-0 Stamford Bridge loss to Bournemouth, leaving boss Lampard bemoaning his side’s sluggish attacking play.
Dan Gosling (pictured below) hit the 84th-minute winner for the Cherries when he hooked the ball over his head and into the net past a stranded Kepa Arrizabalaga, with the goal awarded after a VAR check.
Chelsea failed to open up Bournemouth’s defense leaving Lampard frustrated.
‘I’ve been in a dressing room playing after those games and I’ve been in the dressing room after those games in seasons when we’ve ended up winning the league or Champions League; that’s normal,‘ said Lampard.
‘So I’m not going to stand here and draw a line between me and my staff and the players. I understand how they feel and I feel like it now.
‘So it won’t be a hard week where I get them in on Sunday morning and watch the video for two hours.
‘We’ve got a long week where they can go away a little bit and have some time with their families, and when we work we work properly, and we focus on the Tottenham game.
‘I can’t find anyone wanting in terms of how we apply ourselves.
‘But what we do on the pitch is the main thing. And at the minute we do have to understand that it’s not good enough.’
Lampard’s side visit London rivals Tottenham Hotspur next Sunday, before hosting relegation-threatened Southampton and traveling to Arsenal later this month.
