Frank Lampard has insisted he is fully behind the Chelsea cause but urged the club to keep the spine of the team intact.
Chelsea midfielder dismisses exit talk
Frank Lampard has insisted he is fully behind the Chelsea cause but urged the club to keep the spine of the team intact.
Lampard's future has regularly been the subject of speculation and questions have been asked again this season about his happiness at Stamford Bridge after losing his status as a permanent fixture of the starting XI.
He has made it clear that he wants to play every game but is respectful of Andre Villas-Boas' right to choose the team and will fight to stay at the forefront of his plans.
Having joined the Blues from West Ham in 2001, the 33-year-old midfielder now feels totally at home and would never contemplate leaving.
"I am very committed," Lampard said in the
London Evening Standard.
"The thing is for me it is much easier when I'm playing regular games and starting, playing 90 minutes to get into the rhythm that I have found since I have been here. That is what I love doing.
"The boss is the boss, he picks the team, for me personally I know that's when I'm at my best (playing regularly).
"I will always stay completely behind the cause of Chelsea because it's me now, Chelsea is my club."
Producing the goods
Villas-Boas is ready to let Nicolas Anelka and Alex leave Chelsea this month and reports have suggested several other senior players could soon be on their way out of the club.
The likes of Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda and even captain John Terry have been linked with moves elsewhere, but Lampard believes it would be a mistake to put too much emphasis on younger talent at the expense of more established figures.
He said: "We need our big players with John Terry, who was magnificent (against Wolves) at the back.
"The spine of the team is what has made us what we are in the last seven years. I think it's important.
"There are changes to the team and of course we all understand that things change with time, but what we are about is that spine to an extent.
"It's nice to see big players who have been here a long time producing the goods."
Team spirit
The relationship between Villas-Boas and his players has come under scrutiny but Lampard maintains that the manager has the support of everyone at the club despite a difficult run of results.
He added: "I think the team spirit is okay. When you're losing games it's the first thing people look at. It takes the big players in the dressing room and everyone collectively to stand up and make a difference, which is what we did against Wolves.
"It (team spirit) is something we pride on ourselves at Chelsea for many years, it won us titles, won us a lot of things and it is something we can't lose because if you lose that, you can't be at the top."
