Frank Lampard has insisted Chelsea are still in the hunt for a third straight English Premier League title despite a disappointing sequence of results over the Christmas and New Year period that has left the Blues six points behind leaders Manchester United.
Chelsea failed to win three of their four holiday fixtures and on Tuesday were held to a goalless draw by Aston Villa — the first time this season that Jose Mourinho’s men had failed to score in the league.
But England midfielder Lampard, Chelsea’s stand-in skipper, was confident the anticipated returns from injury of Blues captain John Terry, Arjen Robben and goalkeeper Petr Cech would give the London club the boost they need in the second half of the season.
”It is certainly not a crisis. It is something we need to address because we are not used to drawing games and not getting three points for three games on the trot,” he said.
”We are used to winning games and we want to win games again,” former West Ham hero Lampard added.
Terry will be back for Chelsea’s next Premiership clash against Wigan at Stamford Bridge on January 13, with Cech available the following week for the trip to Liverpool. ”It is a great boost to have Petr back,” said Lampard. ”For me he is the best goalkeeper in the world.
”Credit to Hilario for coming in but we’ve been unfortunate to lose two of the best keepers in the Premiership [Cech and Carlo Cudicini] for a long period of time.
”Petr coming back is a big bonus especially with the sort of injury he had [a fractured skull]. As regards to John, we all knew it was a short-term thing with his back. Psychologically it will be good to have him back. Who wouldn’t want John Terry back in their side?”
Looking ahead, Lampard added: ”Ourselves and Manchester United know the situation now and there is still a long way to go. I am confident we can pull the gap back. There are many points to play for and we’ve got a lot of confidence in this team. That’s the reason we’ve been champions two years on the trot.
”It is important we carry on doing the right things. Slight things haven’t gone our way. You can’t dwell on that. You just have to wait for it to turn a little bit and I am sure it will.
”People only get carried away because of the standards we have set for the past two seasons. It is quite normal to have periods in a season where it doesn’t quite go for you.
”At one stage last season I think at one stage we were 15 points clear of the Manchester Uniteds and Liverpools, and then all of a sudden we had a little blip and it was down to six or seven points at one point.
”You have to look at the big picture rather than just a few games. I think Sir Alex Ferguson [United manager] as well as Jose Mourinho is wise enough to know there is a long way to go.
”The pair of them talk after games, which gives out some headlines — but at the end of the day the football will do the talking.” — Sapa-AFP