Source: SKY_Sports
Lampard's Europe fears
Frank Lampard believes Chelsea's place in next season's UEFA Champions League could come under threat.[LNB] The West London club have suffered a recent run of poor form, leading to manager Luiz Felipe Scolari being removed from his position.[LNB]Chelsea currently lie fourth in the Premier League table, five points ahead of Arsenal. But the long-serving midfielder is not taking a top-four finish for granted.[LNB]"Of course it is under threat because that is the way football is," Lampard said.[LNB]"If we drop enough points it will be under threat because there are teams behind us trying to push into our position so you should never be over-confident to say that position is not under threat."[LNB]RespectThe 30-year-old expressed his respect for former boss Scolari, stating that the players should be the ones shouldering the blame for the crisis at Stamford Bridge.[LNB]"I had huge respect for Phil Scolari and everything he did," Lampard added.[LNB]"I had huge respect for Jose Mourinho. I've been very lucky with every manager I've worked with, I've had huge respect for them.[LNB]"It will be the same again. Players need to respect the manager and players need to perform."[LNB]"When things don't go right, we have to look at ourselves as a squad and as players and not blame anyone else when things go wrong."[LNB]SupportIn the face of reports saying some players turned on Scolari during the last days of his reign at Stamford Bridge, both Lampard and club captain John Terry let it be known the World Cup-winning manager had their full support.[LNB]"I can only speak for myself and Lamps - we were behind the manager," Terry said.[LNB]"You will have to speak to other players to find out what their thoughts and feelings are. Obviously as a manager you're never going to keep everyone happy, everyone wants to be in the starting line-up.[LNB]"One thing is for sure, the players really need to stick together now whatever differences there were between players or managers."[LNB]
