Lamps - Blues aren't past it

Midfielder warns rivals to expect more from Chelsea veterans

Last updated: 3rd September 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Lamps - Blues aren't past it

Lampard: Has promised more from Chelsea

We have got players here who are experienced and you can't buy experience in football.

Frank Lampard
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Frank Lampard has rubbished claims that Chelsea's squad are over the hill, and has promised more to come from the Premier League champions.

Carlo Ancelotti's side have made a dream start to the new campaign with three successive victories already under their belts, including 6-0 routs of both West Brom and Wigan, and no goals conceded.

However, the age of the Blues' senior squad has come under scrutiny of late, with Lampard and star striker Didier Drogba both over 30 and 29-year-old captain John Terry approaching the milestone.

But England midfielder Lampard, who is currently out of action with a hernia problem and will miss Friday's opening Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria, has hit back at critics who claim Chelsea's veteran players are past it.

Rubbish

"It is a load of rubbish when I hear talk about there only being one or two years left in our spine. This has been going on for a year or so," Lampard told the club's official magazine.

"Sometimes that is mind games from other managers or press talk and we proved them wrong last year.

"We have got players here who are experienced and you can't buy experience in football - look at Didier, he is a specimen and he will overpower any 24 or 25-year-old.

"People have been waxing lyrical about Paul Scholes, and rightly so, because if you take him out of the United team now, they will want to replace him and they probably won't be able to."

Lampard is no stranger to silverware since arriving at Stamford Bridge almost a decade ago, but the midfielder insists he has not lost his hunger for success.

"Every year I set my goals again, I don't lose any ambition or drive," he added.

"I would love to win the Champions League one day, but I would love to win more Premier League titles as well, so it's quite easy to self-motivate.

"I think it's one of my strong points that I always want to do more because you don't play forever.

"If I can keep my level up to the way I am playing now I believe I can go on playing for many more years."

After taking 14 goals from their opening three Premier League encounters, Lampard is pleased with the progression of Chelsea's game.

Natural

"I think our game feels more natural now - you can see that from the way we finished last season and started this one," he said.

"Don't get me wrong, we had difficult moments last season when it wasn't flowing, but it became more natural to us and after winning the Double and celebrating that, I think we came back here in the summer wanting to step up again to another level."

The midfielder also reserved praise for Ancelotti, who guided the club to an historic Double in his debut season as manager.

He added: "The manager is very involved - his method, his training, his personality and his calmness is something the players have related to more and more over the last year or so and that's making us stronger as a unit."

Comments (3)

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Saalick Siddiqi (Liverpool fan) says...

that might be true, but the squad does need to begin to deal with the fact that the likes of lampard will not be playing in about 3 years to the same standar as today. the only way to do this is to get more youth (even less than 25 years), which does seem to be happening with the likes of ramires, kalou, mikel etc.

Posted 15:20 3rd September 2010

Mark Graham (Chelsea fan) says...

Just right Frank! The haters just want some false hope to cling onto! =)

Posted 14:53 3rd September 2010

Carl Jackson (Chelsea fan) says...

Lamps is absolutely right the team proved all the douters wrong last season and im confident it will be the same this season. Also lets not forget that Ancelotti is known for keeping his older players fit and playing longer i meaan look at Maldini, Costacurta, Inzaghi etc.

Posted 14:42 3rd September 2010
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