Lampard on Kante, Hudson-Odoi, his message for Mount, Wolves and why he rates Nuno
Frank Lampard spoke about a number of issues at a news conference on Friday ahead of this weekend’s match against Wolves. Here’s some of what the Blues boss had to say.
On how he spent the international break
“With work. It’s a mixed bag, this period. We lose a lot of players – we have a lot of internationals – and the ones that have been here have been working and resting. You have to give them some days to spend with their families.
“We work more on conditioning really, because we’re still in the early stage of the season. There’s not so much tactics you can do without the big group.
“But the lads have worked hard. We now have the (international) players back, relatively decent and fit, and we’re ready for the weekend.”
On N’Golo Kante
“”Kovacic is fit to play, N’Golo’s not. He still has issues with his ankle and the medical team are working with him.
“He’s in a bit of a transitional period now where we’re trying to get him on the pitch and he’s doing some physical work, but this game comes too soon for him.
“He’s hopefully close to coming back. I don’t want to jump the gun because we’re waiting for that final step to get him where we want him to be. Hopefully that will be in the next week or so.”
On Antonio Rudiger
“Rudiger is fit to play. That (whether Rudiger plays at Wolves) is obviously a choice for myself but he’ll have an important role – I know how important he’s been for the club and the team since he’s been here.
“We’ve missed him, as we’ve missed a few front-line players who will certainly strengthen us as a group. I’m certainly pleased to have him back. He has personality, character, and quality as a defender.
“He is an international defender and we have missed him as we have missed a few front-line players. He will strengthen us and I am certainly pleased to have him back.”
On Rudiger having a leadership role
“It is important as a team, particularly with how young we are. I don’t want a young team for the sake of it. I want leaders within that.
“Rudiger is not old but he certainly needs to take on responsibility of being a leader.
“I see it in his personality; it has to be channelled obviously in the right direction and he can then be very influential in the team but also for the young players like Callum Hudson-Odoi, Mason Mount, Tomori, as happens when you become more senior and more experienced, and he is certainly ready to take on this role.”
On Mason Mount’s England appearances
“I was really proud. The work he’s put in as a young boy – we’ve all seen the pictures of him as a young Chelsea kid years ago – and his dream has come true on two levels, making his full debut for us and now England.
“Now I would say the hard work begins because this is where the scrutiny ramps up. He did well in both games and now he needs to go up the gears and continue with his progression because I think there’s a lot more.”
On Tammy Abraham
“I’m delighted for Tammy with his goals in the last two games. I keep saying it, but his attitude and his enthusiasm to try and improve is always there.
“Similar to what I’ve said about Mason: I want more and he wants more – they want more.
“So he’ll have to continue as there’s competition – Giroud and Batshuayi want those spots up front and they all need to be on their toes.”
On Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James playing for the Under-23s
“They’ll get minutes which is important now because Callum has been training with us for a while but there are still some issues with the injury itself that we need to make sure he’s OK with.
“He’ll need to get match fit, so these games are really beneficial for him and Reece James similarly.
“I ‘m pleased with that. They’re two young players that are going to be big for this club going forward.”
On Wolves
“They’re a very good team. They got a lot of credit last year, quite rightly so, and have a good way of playing.
“They’re very dangerous in terms of their attacking players and what they can do to you. They had a great record against the so-called bigger teams last season for a reason; because they defend well and counter-attack really quickly.
“There’s a difficult atmosphere in the stadium – good support behind the home team. So we need to be ready on all levels.”
On Wolves boss Nuno
“I’ve been very impressed. You can only see positives from the outside.
“The way they got promoted, then sustained it, and the way he shows himself in the media and with his players and the unity they seem to have – it’s a good style they have and I appreciate managers that have their way and stick to it and have got success. I like the way he operates.”
