Lampard on Batshuayi, injuries, West Ham fans, Kepa and more
Frank Lampard spoke at a news conference on the eve of Chelsea’s game against West Ham. Here’s some of what the Blues boss had to say.
On Tammy Abraham’s injury
“We’ll know by the end of the weekend. He has some pain and won’t be involved tomorrow. We’ll see by Monday.
“It’s a squad game over the course of a season. When opportunities come they’re ready and I’ve got confidence in them.”
On Michy Batshuayi, who is expected to replace Abraham
“Michy has a quality and a work ethic. It’s not easy when you’re not playing as many minutes as you want.
“With Tammy’s form it’s meant that he (Abraham) has played a lot of minutes. But that can obviously change and now Tammy has his injury.
“I’ve seen a great work ethic and a persistence in how he (Batshuayi) works and his quality which we’ve seen when he’s come off the bench.
“That’s been great to see because we need competition in that place.”
On Antonio Rudiger
“He’s getting closer. He’s had a really good week’s work.
“But the reality is that he’s not played for a very long time, so it’s a mini pre-season now the injury seems to be hopefully finished.
“Now we need to get him properly fit and he’s working very, very hard.
“It’s days and weeks rather than months, which is great news for us.”
On getting stick from West Ham fans
“I’ll just do my job. Fans will be fans.
“We know where everyone’s loyalty lies. We know how passionate fans are in England for their clubs and it’s a London derby so I expect it to be passionate on both sides and I’ll just do my job.
“It’s just a game for me and for us to try and win against a very difficult opponent – a London derby, which adds spice to it and which the players have to be aware of, because that can change the temperature of the game.
“I’m not concerned about the emotions of it from my point of view. I came through their in the academy a long, long time ago and been at Chelsea a long time as a player and now managing, so my focus is completely on us.”
On West Ham struggling
“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised either way. It’s just a tough league. They’ve got good players and all I do is focus on the teams when they come in front of us.
“We have West Ham in front of us and they have good individuals, a good team and a good manager and we have to be very aware of their threat no matter what their recent form is.
“Add into that it’s a London derby and that kind of takes form out of the window. I played in games like his, where teams turn up in not great form and are transformed by the nature of the game, so we have to be very aware.”
On under-pressure Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini
“He’s a good manager. I worked under him (at Manchester City) and he’s a good man and a good manager and I’ve got huge respect for him. He’ll be working hard to turn it around.
“We all know the ruthless nature of the game now. Everybody wants their team to be successful all the time and it doesn’t always work that way.”
On whether Chelsea will target Hammers keeper Roberto, who has been struggling
“I wouldn’t look at any individual necessarily. When we have our meetings and we watch the games – and it’s our business how we prepare for a game – it’s not for me to comment on anyone’s particular form.”
On whether he is happy with Blues keeper Kepa
“I’m happy. We’re always trying to improve and I know that Kepa is striving – you can see it in his attitude, the way he trains every day – to be better, as he should do at his age and with his status as Chelsea’s number one, with a big price tag and Spain’s number one at the moment.
“He’ll want to get better all the time and there have been a few instances this season where he’ll be the first one to say he can do better.
“That’s football at the top level. But I’m happy with him and happy with his work ethic.”
