Frank Lampard aiming for Chelsea to close gap to the top after ‘difficult’ job in season of ‘unknowns’

A transfer ban has seen the coach promote the club’s youth this term

Frank Lampard expressed his pride at Chelsea qualifying for the Champions League after a 2-0 win over Wolves on the final day of the 2019/20 Premier League season.

The Blues finished fourth in Lampard’s first season at the helm and he pointed to an improved defensive showing on the day as being key to getting over the line.

However, Lampard – who was a serial winner in his playing days at the club – stopped short of too much celebration, saying that Chelsea have to aim higher than merely celebrating a top-four finish.

“The discipline of the team was brilliant. We know clean sheets have been an issue, but we defended right to the end,” he said on Sky Sports.

“I’m really proud of the team, they’ve worked hard for that this year.

“It means a great deal, but at Chelsea we have to be careful about getting too excited with top-four finishes. We know where we’re at, we’ve secured top four and [now] can we close that gap? Liverpool and Man City have taken it to a different level.

“We always want more, but we’ll reflect on the league and we’ve come in the top four when it’s very competitive.”

Chelsea’s finish is made more impressive by the fact they had a transfer ban last summer and sold key forward Eden Hazard to Real Madrid. For Lampard, that meant a huge amount of uncertainty added to the difficult nature of the job – and, in turn, adds to the relative success of the season.

“The difficulty of taking the job was so many unknowns. We couldn’t do any business, we had to rely on youth and we had lost a massive player.

“What we’ve seen is a real development of players, the spirit in the group. Myself and staff, we want to get better every day and we’ve made a small achievement.”