Ben Chilwell has admitted that Frank Lampard was right to say that standards had slipped at Chelsea.
Lampard took charge of the Blues for a second time as interim manager for the final 10 games of a disastrous 2022/2023 campaign following the sacking of Graham Potter.
The Blues all time leading goalscorer didn’t fare well on his return to the dugout recording just one win from his 10 games in charge.
The club legend wasn’t pleased with what he saw from the players on his return and had questioned their fitness as well as a perceived lack of unity amongst the group.
Ahead of tomorrow’s Carabao Cup final vice captain Chilwell has backed up the words of his former boss and told The Sun: “It’s difficult to pinpoint why. I can see why he said that but it wasn’t intentional or something we wanted to happen, a lot of circumstances contributed to that last season.”
“When I joined we had a lot of leaders here. We knew the standards. As a new player, I knew what was expected in training or in a game.”
“As a senior player, I have to take on that role of setting the standards every day. In the Premier League now there are no easy games. 38 tough games and the cups.”
“You can’t have weeks in training where you just get through the week and turn up at the weekend. You can’t get away with that in this country.”
“It’s important that myself and the other leaders, whether old or young, lead the way. We have seen that a lot of the young boys have stepped up this year. Maintaining the levels that are expected at Chelsea. That is important.”
The England international will be hoping he can play a key role as Chelsea aim to win a first League Cup since 2015 and stop a run of five consecutive defeats in Wembley finals.
