Frank's final push: I'm sick of losing and ready to lift the Cup for Guus

28 May 2009 23:01
While Didier Drogba was delivering his profanity-filled rant tocamera, Frank Lampard, mercifully, chose to deal with the pain ofcrashing out of the Champions League in a far more dignified manner.[LNB]Make no mistake, the level of injustice felt by the Chelseamidfielder at the circumstances of Barcelona's passage to the final wasjust as acute as that of his hot-headed team-mate.[LNB] In the pink: Chelsea's Michael Ballack (R) and Frank Lampard[LNB] Chelsea target Ribery not for sale, say German giants Bayern MunichIs United's destroyer Messi the first 'New Maradona' worthy of the name?But by opting to shake the hands of his opponents, rather than petulantly lose the plot, Lampard demonstrated exactly how an experienced sportsman should cope with bitter disappointment, dodgy Norwegian referee or not. He certainly does not like the feeling, but Lampard insists he has at least learned how to take defeat on the chin. 'It is harder when you get that feeling of winning,' he admits.[LNB]'You realise how special it is, it hurts even more when you lose.[LNB]'But as you become older you realise you are not going to win everything. There will be patches in your career when you are unlucky or you don't win things. The older you get, the more rounded you are to deal with those things.[LNB]'At the time they are insufferable, standing on the Wembley pitch (after losing to Spurs in the Carling Cup), not going to the European Championships, losing on penalties to Man United, they are horrible occasions in sport. They stick in the back of your mind, but you have to use them as a positive.[LNB]'Every footballer has lost things. Ryan Giggs, the most celebrated footballer in the modern day, has lost cup finals and leagues. You have to be strong, take them on the chin and come back stronger.'[LNB]The good news for Lampard is that, unlike Giggs, he and his teammates have the chance to end the season with one last hurrah. And while the FA Cup may have lost some of its shine, Lampard is relishing the chance to end a campaign filled with professional and personal disappointment on a high.[LNB] All smiles: Guus Hiddink and Frank Lampard[LNB]'FA Cup final days have always been special,' says Lampard. 'It is very important to us.' Just as last season, after the tragic death of his mother Pat, so Lampard has sought solace on the field from yet more personal strife, following the breakdown of his relationship with fianc?Elen Rives.[LNB]'One of the fortunate things about being a player is that the adrenaline of going out and playing football is like the get-out from a lot of things outside,' he admits. Tomorrow's showdown with Everton brings down the short but successful tenure of Guus Hiddink at Chelsea and, barring any last-minute hitches, will usher in the era of Carlo Ancelotti.[LNB]For Lampard the task at Wembley is two-fold, see to it that Hiddink gets the farewell he deserves while ensuring Ancelotti inherits a team who have returned to winning ways. 'We need to get back to the mentality when we go out week in, week out and win not only cups, but also leagues,' says Lampard.[LNB]'To be fair we have had that mentality since Hiddink has come in. [LNB]His record in the league is championship form. Our performance in the last five months has set a standard, it's where we were a couple of years ago when we won regularly.[LNB]'He has really brought a presence which has been very, very impressive; the way he handles players, the way he handles media, the way he handles everything.[LNB]'That is something everyone respects. It would be great to finish with a big day out and a win for him, I think everyone here won't forget these few months.' [LNB]Neither will they forget too quickly the events at Stamford Bridge earlier this month. Chelsea have until today to submit a statement to UEFA surrounding the behaviour of both players and fans. With that in mind, their players and supporters would be wise to take a leaf out of Lampard's book should they need to be gracious in defeat at Wembley tomorrow. [LNB] [LNB]  

Source: Daily_Mail