Blues duo stay positive over ban

08 September 2009 07:53
Frank Lampard and John Terry believe Chelsea's transfer ban could work to their advantage by galvanising Carlo Ancelotti's squad. The Blues have been banned from signing new players until January 2011 after being found guilty by Fifa for illegally inducing Gael Kakuta to sign. Some believe Chelsea's inability to strengthen if needed come the winter transfer window could seriously damage their chances of contesting the Premier League title. However, England aces Lampard and Terry feel the sanction could have a positive effect on their team-mates as it may give them an extra edge and even bring the squad closer together. Positive "A lot of things have happened to me in my career with England and Chelsea and whenever it's backs to the wall, for whatever reason that might be, it brings a togetherness and can be used as a positive," Lampard said. "You certainly can't let it be used as a negative. It's something that is out of the players' control anyway, so all we can do now is make it a positive." And Terry added: "We are very much together at Chelsea and whatever has been thrown at us over the last two or three years we seem to become stronger. We will certainly do that this time, as always." Chelsea's production line has been criticised in the wake of their Fifa ban with virtually no English players progressing into their first-team in recent seasons. Terry is the last player to come through the club's ranks, but Lampard has defended the club's academy - stating there is plenty of English talent in the pipeline. "It's a general question that certainly shouldn't just involve Chelsea and we all want to see good young English kids coming through," Lampard said. Benefit "In the modern day, the academies go out and look for players from abroad - and that's the right thing to do as it is all to the benefit of the club. But there's lots of English kids at Chelsea and it's great to see. "Fans obviously prefer a local boy to come through because they can relate to them. It's changed a bit since my day, but we should always look for the best English players to develop. "I relate to English boys and will always try and help them, but it's not easy at Chelsea. I played in the first team [for West Ham] at 17, 18, but there was nowhere near the quality there is at Chelsea. "So it's not easy for the young lads - they have to keep their heads down for a longer period of time and be even more determined and work even harder to get where they want to be."

Source: SKY_Sports