Frank Lampard has asked the Chelsea players to give him “more difficult choices going forward” by impressing him in the game against Sevilla
Speaking in the pre-match interview (h/t football.london) before the game against Sevilla on Wednesday, Frank Lampard revealed his plans of keeping the Chelsea players motivated despite ensuring qualification to the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds.
Chelsea ensured qualification from their Champions League group when they beat Stade Rennais last week courtesy of a late Olivier Giroud winner in France.
Chelsea lead Group E after being unbeaten in Europe and collecting 10 points in their first 4 matches. Their opponents, Sevilla, are in second place with 10 points as well.
Both teams have ensured qualification to the Champions League last-16 but the top spot in the group is still up for grabs as the two teams go head to head in Seville on Wednesday.
When asked about his plan to keep the Chelsea players motivated for this game at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Lampard said that Chelsea are still targeting to qualify as group winners.
“We want to win the group for different reasons, obviously your pathway through would be the beneficial position.”
Lampard went on to say that the fringe players would also be motivated by the prospect of entering the first-team fray if they continue to impress him in the upcoming games.
“Also in terms of motivation, those players that haven’t played so many minutes, their motivation is to try to show why they should be in the starting XI. I have different choices, and it’s an opportunity for players to give me more difficult choices moving forward.
The Blues manager also underlined the importance of consistency and demanded that the concentration levels should not drop if they are to succeed this season.
Lampard also mentioned in the interview that this will be a chance for him to rotate his squad ‘for different reasons’.
“Some players have been playing a lot, we’ve been talking about the hectic schedule. It is hectic but we can’t say that on the one hand and then maybe not look at rotation for this game. And on the other side of that players who haven’t played as regularly have been training really, really well and part of the group and important to us.”
From the interview, it becomes apparent that Lampard will rotate the squad to feature fringe players and motivate them by offering them a chance at more minutes in the first team if they continue to impress.