Andre Villas-Boas has again rubbished suggestions that Chelsea could be willing to sell Frank Lampard.
Chelsea boss insists key midfielder Lampard is staying put
Andre Villas-Boas has again rubbished suggestions that Chelsea could be willing to sell Frank Lampard.
Villas-Boas has become the first Chelsea boss to drop Lampard in recent weeks, which has led to speculation about his long-term future.
Lampard has refused to bite his tongue over his unhappiness at being in and out of the side, while there have been increasing numbers of reports claiming all is not well between the midfielder and his manager.
But Villas-Boas has rubbished any suggestions there is an issue and insisted they are not looking to sell the England international.
"We speak every day," he said.
"Frank is a player who is not available at any price," Villas-Boas added, before justifying his handling of the 33-year-old.
Staying
"First, he's not in and out in rotation. There is no such thing. We decide on an XI who are strong for any game and that can help us in the strategy to win the game.
"Every player wants to find that consistency and playing times.
"Frank, with the player he is and the history he represents, wants to be involved all the time, but every player is competing for a place.
"I've said the same all season, even when Frank had more playing time and others didn't.
"Everyone is fighting to be in it, and a player of Frank's level has a shorter distance to travel to be in the team than others.
"We try different options at times, but Frank is the fifth or sixth most used player at Chelsea so he's involved all the time.
"We are speaking of two players ahead of him. One is a goalkeeper and the other is John Terry."
