Chelsea lost their previous Premier League match to West Ham United and many believe that this loss is due to the fact that Lampard chose to tinker around with his first XI.
The Blues manager chose to rest a number of his regular players and if that was not enough, he chose to name Olivier Giroud as his main frontman despite Michy Batshuayi being fully fit and available.
In the absence of Abraham, everyone was certain, Batshuayi would get to start but the Belgian international did not even come on.
It was very much evident that the Chelsea manager was looking to give his players some much-needed rest but the plan obviously backfired. While fans and pundits think this rotation did not help the Stamford Bridge outfit but according to Lampard, the loss was not down to this factor.
‘Tammy was enforced and he’s been going well, but at the same time I have to think about the squad and about the course of the season,’ the manager told the club’s official website.
‘When we have a very taxing game where we give everything physically, arrive back late, I have to think about how fresh we can be for the game ahead.
‘It also gives me a look at how we are generally because we’re not going to get through the season with the same 11 players, so those are the things for me to look at.
‘I think the team we had out there for sure had the quality to go out there and win this game. The fact we performed below par is the reason that we didn’t.
‘I do believe in the squad and I think we’ve shown some great stuff this season. I’ve not had to say many times we were below par.
‘Hardly at all, even when we didn’t get what we want, but today was one of those days. So I don’t think this is any time for harsh reactions and judgements across individuals or the team. It’s time for a look at a bit character, to see how our reaction is for Aston Villa.’
Next up, Chelsea take on Aston Villa in midweek and players like Willian and N’Golo Kante are more than certain to return back to the starting line-up.
