Lampard's return to duty a triumph for the rarely man

Euro 2004 qualifiers: Chelsea's £11m man finds he is still a valuable asset

It would be fair to say that in the great England midfield debate (whither Joe Cole and Lee Bowyer?) the unfortunate Frank Lampard has been deployed as a convenient stick with which to beat Sven Goran Eriksson.

Regardless of England's fate in yesterday's opening European championship game against Slovakia, there is something perverse about the Swede's rationale. Joe Cole performs well in a poor West Ham team. Yet, we find that he's out of the senior squad, reduced to what, at his level of progress, might be considered the ignominy of the Under-21s. Bowyer plays adequately in a moderate Leeds, after an excellent start to the season and a competent display in England's friendly against Portugal. He, too, is out. Frank Lampard, in international purdah, has enjoyed an assured start to the season in an inconsistent Chelsea, who have been defeated three times in a week: he's in.

Obviously that trio aren't necessarily interchangeable, but it still poses a few questions. It's all about club form, argues Eriksson (except when it applies to the sacred few, of course) although word has it that, in Bowyer's case, the manner he conducted himself in the build-up to the Portugal game may not have endeared itself to himself and/or captain David Beckham, who appears to have an increasing influence on the composition of the England squad and starting eleven.

Even if that is true (regarding Bowyer's conduct), how strictly relevant is it? On his last performance, his debut at that, when he confessed that he had been slightly unnerved by the expectation surrounding him, the Leeds man showed sufficient endeavour and initiative to be warranted further opportunity.

And of Cole, arguably England's most gifted young player, who has exhibited his bewitching dribbling qualities in an England shirt, it has to be asked: just what does he have to do to be assured of at least a place in the squad? That question was being asked even more stridently after young Joe's goalscoring man-of-the-match performance for the Under-21s in Slovakia last night.

So, the argument goes, why are they discarded and Lampard invited back in? Which meant that his pleasure at a recall last week was somewhat tarnished by the reaction it provoked. Unable to claim a World Cup squad place – and hence behind Joe Cole and Owen Hargreaves in Eriksson's order of things – and not considered for the Portugal friendly, the Chelsea player might have assumed that his tally of seven international caps wasn't going to increase under Eriksson.

He testifies to the contrary. "When I wasn't selected for the World Cup the manager [Eriksson] phoned me up and said, 'I hope we see you afterwards'," Lampard says. "That stayed in my mind. I knew that I'd have to play pretty well to get back in the reckoning, but I think I deserve it because I've worked hard and my performances have been pretty good. People ask me if I'm surprised to be here, but I can't worry about players that are being left out. I just worry about myself."

It was suggested to him that he was in the party at other players' (and by implication, better players') expense? "That's what it's all about, that's how it should be," says the 24-year-old, who moved across London from West Ham for £11 million in the summer of 2001. "If you're playing well and deserve to be in the squad then you're in it. That's never changed."

He adds: "If anyone's form dips and he [Eriksson] doesn't think you're good enough to be in there, then you won't. There are a lot of good players around and they can't all be in the squad, so it's the ones who are performing at the time who will get in there and stay in there. That's normal. That's competition. That's football. It brings the best out of players." Certainly, Lampard has been one of those Chelsea players whose displays have withstood scrutiny in recent days, during which his team were defeated 4-2 by the Norwegian side, Viking Stavanger, beaten 3-2 at home by Lampard's former club West Ham and losing 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield. Apart from fashioning opportunities, he has been scoring, too.

"We had a lot of pressurised games last season, including the FA Cup final. But I had a six-week break in the summer, and it was nice to take my mind off football and come back with extra hunger," he explained. "I had a good pre-season and a couple of early goals gave me confidence. I've felt pretty good. This is probably the best I've played here.

Unfortunately, that is in direct contrast to some of his team-mates' contributions. "You can't start to make excuses for what's happened, but people do like to jump on us straight away," he says. "They say the players don't care, but it just makes everybody more determined. The Liverpool game was a better performance, if a bad result, but hopefully that will be the turning point for us." As he hopes this international week will in his own hitherto faltering international career.