Ibrahim Oladamola
Frank Lampard vowed “Chelsea will be back” despite their season ending with a whimper against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
“People will make a lot about this season as we’ve had so much success but the reality is: this club will be back,” Lampard said.
“It will take work and a bit of process. I think the fans appreciated the performance today, there have been times this season where they haven’t felt that so we have to latch onto that and get results until the end of the season.
“We’ve been fortunate to have so much success, many clubs would dream of having our success with Premier League’s and Champions League’s. Maybe this is the year where we aren’t where we want to be – could be to do with transitions. A few years ago we didn’t make the Champions League then Chelsea won the Premier League the next year so we can be too short term with it. There are places we need to improve as a club. The game tonight shows that as we played a good game and we lost.
Lampard: special things always happen at Stamford Bridge
“The Premier League moves so fast and the landscape is changing. No team has divine right to be in the top four. Manchester United and Arsenal have spent times out of the Champions League – many big clubs have. In this moment it’s pointless to predict whether [being out of Europe] will be good or bad is pretty pointless. But we can set the building blocks of where we can get to. Can I affect it in this period? Hopefully, yes. But the bigger thing for the club is getting back to where we were. But the challenges are big. Everyone is getting better. Everyone is investing.
“Clubs are more stable than we are in terms of the squad. So we can’t get ahead of ourselves other than understanding what it takes to get back. I understand what it takes to get back from being here as a player and coach in the Champions League. We must set the standard high. In my next seven games I’ll do my mini-version of that.”
