Chelsea take on Manchester United in the Premier League and right now they are just five points ahead of the Red Devils on the table.
The Blues have won just one out of their previous five league matches and with each point they drop, teams like Man United and Spurs are closing in onto that elusive Champions League spot which Lampard’s men are currently holding.
And while qualifying for the Champions League for the next season will surely be a great achievement for Chelsea but speaking before their all-important clash vs Manchester United, Frank Lampard has made it clear that just qualifying for Europe will not be their long-term goal.
He told the club’s official website: ‘I always like to reflect on myself and how I work day-to-day with the players, so there was a lot of self-reflection and having a little time away brings a bit of clarity to think we should be happy in fourth position.
‘We know we dropped points against Arsenal at home and against Newcastle away and previously before that, and in the moment every point you feel like you’ve dropped really hurts, but at the same time, we have to realise where we are. We are in a bit of a transition and the Premier League has never been as competitive as it is now.
‘Coming fourth for Chelsea is our aim now, but it shouldn’t be our aim long term. We want to be pushing again to close the gap to the standard, which at the minute is Liverpool.
‘That’s the longer-term vision and sometimes within that long-term vision, you need a bit of calmness within the storm. Hopefully, I can be that but stay driven.
‘So I think being fourth would have been a plus at the start of the season, but at the same time, I think about how we can get that extra 10 or 15 per cent that I think we’ve been lacking, that if we’d had would have got us a lot more points on the board and would make fourth look a lot more comfortable.
‘So I’ve come back very keen and excited to hit this long run-in to the end of the season.’
Clubs like Sheffield United, Man United and Spurs are breathing down the neck of Chelsea and it’s only a matter of time before they all catch up to them on the league table.
And we believe this should happen sooner than later since Chelsea are scheduled to take on the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City in the coming few weeks.
