Lampard on youngsters, Kante fitness, unpredictable Southampton & the player who’s ‘a dream to work with’
Frank Lampard spoke about a number of issues at a news conference ahead of this weekend’s match against Southampton. Here’s some of what the Blues boss had to say.
On Tammy Abraham’s England call-up
“I don’t want to put too much on his shoulders but, step by step, he’s shown that he can score goals in the Championship and now he’s showing that he can score goals in the Premier League.
“But the work’s only really begun for him because he’s still a young player. I want to see him continue playing in the same vein for Chelsea and scoring those goals.
“Then when he goes with the England squad I think he has all the attributes to go there and be successful.
“It will be another step for him and I’m sure he has the attitude to take that challenge of being a goalscorer for England.
“There’s competition there. When he steps into that squad he’ll see that there are great strikers there already so it’s a good challenge for Tammy.”
On Fikayo Tomori also being called up
“I’m delighted. I’m absolutely delighted with Tomori because of all the stories – and I think Mason and Tammy have taken the headlines this season and rightly so – seeing Tomori from when he turned up at Derby last year; loads of great talent in him but slightly raw in a way, he’d had a loan at Hull which went so-so, to then see him play the full season last year when I relied on him hugely and then to come here and I think some people would have easily doubted whether he could step up to the Premier League yet – what I think he’s done is show that he’s got great qualities and really shown that in the Premier League.
“It’s another natural progression and I’m really pleased for him. He deserves it because he’s been a dream to work with day in day out for the last 15 months or so.”
On whether Tomori can establish himself as an England starter
“That’s up to Gareth Southgate and secondly it’s up to Fikayo himself to perform at a level and go up through the gears, which he’s done pretty quickly and put himself in the equation.
“Now he’s in the squad, that’s clear that he’s knocking on the door. Getting into the team is the next challenge and then it’ll be staying in the team.
“I won’t sit here and say ‘yes he will do that’, because it’s all up to him now – he’s made that great step of getting in there. It’s in Fikayo’s hands to go there and show what he shows us each day.”
On Chelsea’s England contingent
“They’ve got smiles on their faces, plus Ross [Barkley], who has been there a while.
“They’re very smiley and happy. I might have to remind them that come Sunday they need to perform for us.
“It is great news for them, but as I keep saying; it is just the start. The minute any standards drop or complacency kicks in then they will all suffer.
“I am pleased they smile, they need to take this now as something to add to their armoury and say ‘okay I am an England player now, I am in the England squad – I need to show more day in and day out and more, game in and game out for us’.”
On Callum Hudson-Odoi being in the England Under-21 rather than senior squad
“I’ve spoken to Gareth and obviously it’s his call. I respect an international manager that has that open conversation with you.
“All I can say that is what I see from the Chelsea end and it’s Gareth’s choice when it comes to England.
“Callum hasn’t played probably enough games and these games will do him good – it’s England Under-21s, he should be proud of that anyway.”
On Jorginho
“Jorginho is vice-captain as it stands. Azpi is captain and I think that was clear at the start of the season – his professionalism and career here speaks for itself.
“Jorginho, I keep talking about him as a character – he’s a driver. It’s very evident to see on the pitch.”
On what he expects at Southampton
“A tough match. A very good manager and a very well organised team.
“They play different formations so it’s hard to predict how they might come at you but they come at you with a lot of pace in the way they want to work off the ball and they have quality players.
“It’s always a very difficult place to go, especially if we’re not at it. You have to be tip-top to go there because there’s a lot of energy in their team and the crowd can get behind them if they play with the kind of intensity they have.
“So we need to match it, at least, because we want to keep the momentum going.”
On whether N’Golo Kante is fit enough to start
“That’s something we’ll have to watch over the next 24-48 hours.
“He’s still on the semi-recovery – as they all are from the Lille game – and the fact that he hasn’t played much.
“In terms of the injury, he’s fine. There’s no fall-out from that on the game. It’s just about making sure that he’s fit and ready and that’s obviously a call for myself (to make).”
