Frank Lampard has criticised his players' lack of aggression following Chelsea's 1-0 defeat to Wolves. The Blues struggled to match the intensity of Julen Lopetegui's side at Molineux, putting on a concerning display just days before their clash against Real Madrid.
In the post-match press conference, Lampard was asked how he intends to fire up the Chelsea squad for their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday evening. The 44-year-old responded by declaring that any player who isn't motivated shouldn't make themselves available for selection.
"I think it was a performance if I really analyse it and you want to win a Premier League game, I think you have to have more aggression in your game," Lampard said. "More speed, more competitive duels that go your way rather than the opposition.
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"That baseline of stuff of a team that our fighting for their Premier League lives will always dictate the turning of the result of the game regardless of the talent maybe on each side. I think there was a little bit of that today.
"The players need to be aware of that because without that you can't win games and you can't be the team that Chelsea have been and we want to get back to. It was interesting to see in many ways. I'm here to help with that.
"If you're worried, don't come – the players shouldn't be," Lampard said. "It's a carrot for them when they sign for Chelsea. Every player in that squad whether it's Mateo Kovacic who has won two Champions League and played in World Cup semis, finals, you deserve to play for Chelsea or if you're Mudryk and you come here, you've had your pathway to get here.
"You're here for a reason. To expect everything to come together as a squad is maybe not the case. I'm not saying the squad doesn't have aggression, it's just bringing together.
"Sometimes a bit of confidence, a lack of confidence can look like aggression to the eye," the Chelsea caretaker manager added. "As a team we were up against a team that were very aggressive today and maybe some second balls and duels and things like that we weren't quite at.
"I don't mind saying because it has to be said to be a reality to be dealt with. Wednesday will be a completely different game but those things are always still there in some form or another. We've got a few days to recover, prepare and go again."
Despite the west London outfit's unimpressive performance, Lampard issued a promising update on N'Golo Kante. The Frenchman was omitted from the travelling squad to face Wolves and, despite fears of an injury, he was only rested as a precaution.
Kante has recently returned from a hamstring issue which he picked up in August. Lampard said: "I can't speak about the backroom, for some reason other than what you saw. You can write what you saw. N'Golo will be fine as it stands now. Managing him to be fit for the game. Not an issue."
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