Lampard Keeps Faith in Chelsea's 'never Say Die' Attitude
Despite winning only two of their last seven league games, Chelsea's Frank Lampard has not given up hope of claiming the Premier League title
Frank Lampard has issued a rallying cry to Chelsea's stuttering squad before their next league fixture, the pivotal trip to Manchester United next month, after Sunday's wasteful draw at Fulham left Luiz Felipe Scolari's side further adrift of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
There were signs of frustration at Craven Cottage, with Scolari appearing to argue with Jose Bosingwa on the touchline and with Petr Cech as the players left the pitch after a 2–2 draw in which the visitors, so dominant in possession for long periods, had contrived to allow Fulham to equalize a minute from time. The draw left Chelsea with only two wins from the past seven league games and only 10 points accrued in that time.
Lampard still believes the title can be reclaimed. "There are three points in it at the top, so the situation hasn't changed that much, and we've got a very good squad of players," said the England midfielder, whose brace of goals had put the visitors ahead in the local derby. "The Fulham match was frustrating because of the manner we lost the points with the last-minute header. That was very disappointing and we should have won. But we will go to Manchester United [on 11 January] aiming to win the game.
"You only win titles with a never-say-die attitude in your team. That is what Chelsea are all about. We've had it for the last few years and we've still got it in there. At Fulham we showed an absolutely great reaction to going a goal down and, in the second half, came out and smothered them. They didn't really get out of their own half other than with the occasional long ball down the side. We dominated the game, so the attitude was there from all the lads. It was just frustrating to be done on a set piece in the last minute."
Chelsea remain unbeaten away from home for a little over a year but, having shed eight points to Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge this term, will need to maintain that resilience on their travels, with trips to Anfield, Old Trafford and the Emirates still to come this season. "We've got very poor results against the big teams so far this season, but we're still right in there amongst it," said Lampard. "There are two things to consider: you want to go to places like that and get results, and we're definitely capable of doing that. But also we need to get results against teams like Fulham. That is what the other teams up there do.
"If we can get real consistency going, a winning run of games which we're more than capable of – we did it last season and we did it numerous times over the last few years – we can go on and win the league, there is no doubt about that. I'm hungry to win league games and to win the title, believe me. But it will come down to consistency. Against Fulham, they scored their first goal from inside the six-yard box when we got too deep, and their second came when their geezer got a fairly free header in our box. It is a collective responsibility. We all have our jobs to do, and we all have to do them. That's why it was so frustrating to concede late on because we deserved to win that game in football terms."
There were signs of frustration at Craven Cottage, with Scolari appearing to argue with Jose Bosingwa on the touchline and with Petr Cech as the players left the pitch after a 2–2 draw in which the visitors, so dominant in possession for long periods, had contrived to allow Fulham to equalize a minute from time. The draw left Chelsea with only two wins from the past seven league games and only 10 points accrued in that time.
Lampard still believes the title can be reclaimed. "There are three points in it at the top, so the situation hasn't changed that much, and we've got a very good squad of players," said the England midfielder, whose brace of goals had put the visitors ahead in the local derby. "The Fulham match was frustrating because of the manner we lost the points with the last-minute header. That was very disappointing and we should have won. But we will go to Manchester United [on 11 January] aiming to win the game.
"You only win titles with a never-say-die attitude in your team. That is what Chelsea are all about. We've had it for the last few years and we've still got it in there. At Fulham we showed an absolutely great reaction to going a goal down and, in the second half, came out and smothered them. They didn't really get out of their own half other than with the occasional long ball down the side. We dominated the game, so the attitude was there from all the lads. It was just frustrating to be done on a set piece in the last minute."
Chelsea remain unbeaten away from home for a little over a year but, having shed eight points to Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge this term, will need to maintain that resilience on their travels, with trips to Anfield, Old Trafford and the Emirates still to come this season. "We've got very poor results against the big teams so far this season, but we're still right in there amongst it," said Lampard. "There are two things to consider: you want to go to places like that and get results, and we're definitely capable of doing that. But also we need to get results against teams like Fulham. That is what the other teams up there do.
"If we can get real consistency going, a winning run of games which we're more than capable of – we did it last season and we did it numerous times over the last few years – we can go on and win the league, there is no doubt about that. I'm hungry to win league games and to win the title, believe me. But it will come down to consistency. Against Fulham, they scored their first goal from inside the six-yard box when we got too deep, and their second came when their geezer got a fairly free header in our box. It is a collective responsibility. We all have our jobs to do, and we all have to do them. That's why it was so frustrating to concede late on because we deserved to win that game in football terms."
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