Frank Lampard believes Chelsea's poor recent form has something to do with his squad not being fit enough in comparison to their Premier League rivals.
The Blues' winless run – in all competitions – extended to six games on Saturday afternoon as Brighton overturned a one-goal deficit to beat them 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. Goals from Danny Welbeck and Julio Enciso ensured three points for the high-flying Seagulls despite Conor Gallagher's early opener in west London.
Chelsea, despite being at home at the weekend, only registered eight shots with two of them on target. Meanwhile, visitors Brighton had 26 shots with 10 of them testing Kepa Arrizabalaga. It was a thoroughly deserved win for the Seagulls who looked much more up for it and even fitter than the Chelsea players.
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That's the view of Lampard who tried to put his finger on what is going wrong at the club at the minute. The 42-year-old took over as interim head coach earlier in the month following the departure of Graham Potter. Lampard is contracted with the club until the end of the season so trying to majorly improve the players' fitness is not something that will be easy and quick.
"At the minute, it has been mostly conversations and meetings than training pitch stuff," Lampard explained. "Training pitch stuff was all pretty walkthrough and low level because of the [tiredness] in the legs.
"It is more about speaking to the players individually. When we do get the chance to work, I think the team needs some physical work. I think that's important for us because at this level you have to be right on the limit and we are not on the limit right now.
"I think that can be a capacity thing with the players for whatever reason. It doesn't matter how we got there but it needs to be addressed now."
The interim Chelsea boss continued: "I think maybe when some players are lacking confidence then it can be seen as a hunger thing. When you are a yard short, you are just a yard short. Or when you are receiving the ball and not confident, you take your first touch backwards.
"That can sometimes feel like a hunger of lack of passion thing but I do not feel that. I feel like the players are hungry to be successful as Chelsea players."
Realistically, sorting the players' fitness levels isn't something Lampard is going to do between now and the end of the season. Chelsea are still on the hunt for a new permanent head coach, with the likes of Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique among the top contenders, and whoever does get the job will need to have a strong pre-season with their squad in order to prepare them for next term where the club will be hoping to be a lot more competitive on the pitch.
Next up for Lampard is the second and decisive leg of Chelsea's Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid. The Blues are trailing 2-0 after Los Blancos dominated in the first-leg last week and will need to produce nothing short of a miracle to qualify over the reigning European champions on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge.
However, Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana believes the side can produce a major shock at Stamford Bridge. The 22-year-old is going into the game with a "nothing to lose" mindset.
"Chelsea have already done it, after a complicated season, a new coach coming in," Fofana said to Telefoot. "Winning the Champions League, they did it in 2021. So I think it is possible, it is in the DNA of the club.
"We have nothing to lose. We have had a bad season, we know that. Now it is up to us to go out there and show what we can do. There is quality in this group."
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