Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard has hit back over the damning stat which shows Chelsea have conceded goals at a higher rate under him than any other in the Premier League manager. Frank Lampard insists the Blues have done the work in recruitment to put the defensive issues right.
Frank Lampard said “I keep talking about the need for work and how things take time. We’re playing with new players coming into the squad and it’s understandable at this stage of the season where there are moments in games when I talk about game management and the need to go longer, mix our game up. It’s something that obviously has to be worked on with time. Things like Southampton at the weekend are a lesson to be learnt in real time. We don’t have so much time with the players so far this season and that will come. We need to make sure the lessons are learnt quickly and the players are very aware of that.In terms of the goals conceded, I am aware of the stats. The other stat is that since I’ve been here, we’ve conceded the second least shots in the Premier League behind Man City. It helps sometimes to narrow down the issues. The issues are that we don’t concede many shots on goal but when we do, we concede goals.It’s something we’re aware of. We’re aware of it when we look at recruitment and more than that you’re aware of the need to work on the pitch with the players to ensure that when we hopefully set up well we don’t concede many chances but when the chances we concede we let in too much. It’s something we work on specifically. Of course we want to concede less goals, as do all the teams at the moment. There are teams that are conceding a lot of goals in the Premier League and we’re all in a similar position to a degree at the moment. It’ll always be something we work on as much as we do our attacking play.”
The Blues let two goals slip on Saturday in the 3-3 draw against Southampton, with the second equalise coming in injury time. Chelsea have dropped 20 points from winning positions during his stint as the Blues boss, and have conceded 63 goals in 43 league games. While recruitment has been strong in the forward line, the Blues only brought in goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, centre-back Thiago Silva on a free transfer and left-back Ben Chilwell. The first two players were not fit to feature in the draw against the Saints, and Kepa Arrizabalaga had another difficult display in goal with a big mistake.
