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By Martin Graham | 13th Apr 2023
Frank Lampard has called on his Chelsea stars to make the most of their underdog tag as they prepare to take on holders Real Madrid in their Champions League quarterfinal tie.
The Blues face the daunting task of traveling to the Santiago Bernabeu for Wednesday’s first leg with Lampard in caretaker charge, following an unusual domestic campaign by the Blues so far, which led to Graham Potter being sacked, with the West London outfit lying in 11th place.
In contrast, Madrid are second on the log in La Liga, but made light work of Liverpool at the round-of-16 stage and produced another statement victory in in last week’s Copa Del Rey semifinal, thrashing fierce rivals Barcelona 4-0 at Camp Nou to advance 4-1 on aggregate to the final.
It did not start on a positive note for Lampard as well, as his first game in his second spell as Blues boss ended with a 1-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.
The caretaker manager has now called on his players to deliver now that there is pressure and use the ‘underdog’ tag to their advantage.
Lamapard challenges Chelsea players to handle the pressure
“When you get to this stage, there’s always going to be pressure,” Lampard said. “Are Real Madrid favourites? Yes and I understand why. That’s the difficulties of our season. I don’t think that is a problem.
“There is no better carrot in football than trying to prove people wrong, being the underdog and have a good result. It’s one of the best things I’ve been part of. I think that is a nice challenge for us.
“I’m not worried about that. In terms of the pressure I am not worried about that. Football at this level is pressure. If you can’t handle the pressure you are not a big club, you are not a big player or a participant in it.”
Many Chelsea stars have faced accusations of lacking character but Lampard jumped into their defence, saying: Lampard said: “In terms of the character I think it’s normal in a season where a club like us falls below the levels we want, the character gets questioned. It is probably one of the first things to get questioned at times in defeat.”
“The only thing the players can do is prove it on the pitch. People can view it where they can see it. There is a lot we do behind the scenes, on the training pitch, around the dressing room, talking to the players.”
“My job is to convey to them the need to train at a level, to have the mentality is at a certain level, individually and as a group. The rest, they have to show it. You can talk as much as you want, but the players have to show it on the pitch.”
“I’m absolutely not questioning the fact they have a lot of character in the group because I’ve seen the dressing room and understand football. There is character. Nobody wants to not win football matches.”
“But sometimes players can take a hit on confidence and sometimes a lack of confidence can look like a lack of character. That’s my job to [correct] quickly. I’ve only been here a short time, to find those areas, find out which players need help or where the group needs help and try it give it the help it needs. Then it’s up to them.”
Martin Graham is an MFF sports writer
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