by Parks lives Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:04 pm
LAMPARD - WE CAN HANDLE THE HEAT
England midfielder Frank Lampard insists Chelsea can handle the pressure of chasing Manchester United for the title.
Chelsea will cut United's lead at the top of the Barclays Premiership to five points if they overcome Newcastle at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
Coach Jose Mourinho already believes the outcome of that game is a foregone conclusion with Chelsea determined to make up for lost ground following their 1-1 home draw with Arsenal on Sunday.
Chelsea refused to budge from top spot throughout last season but this time United's resurgence means they are faced with the prospect of trying to catch Sir Alex Ferguson's side.
But Lampard is adamant there is no extra pressure on the players and likens the chase to their first title-winning season under the Portuguese coach.
Lampard said: "We don't want to be behind but that's the way it is. It's important we win on Wednesday and make it five points.
"There's a long, long way to go but we don't want the gap to open up too much. The way Manchester United are playing at the moment, everything is going their way.
"It's important we keep playing as we are doing and things will change for us. Hopefully we can close that gap and be top.
"The season before, when we won our first championship, we were second for a long period so we are used to chasing.
"It's a similar pressure. Big players can handle pressure and there's not much difference in the pressure of being a few points clear and having to win to keep the gap or having to keep winning to close the gap.
"You still have to win football matches. It's the same pressure for me. I know we have the quality to win the league but it's not as simple as that. we have to go and do it. there's a long way to go so it's important we stay strong mentally and physically."
Lampard twice hit the woodwork in the draw with Arsenal - his second effort coming seconds from the end of an absorbing contest between the London rivals.
It took a fantastic 35-yard thunderbolt equaliser from Michael Essien to cancel out Mathieu Flamini's 78th-minute opening strike - but Lampard was still upset with the outcome.
He explained: "We were upset at the end only because we should have won.
"We played well, dominated the second half, hit the woodwork I don't know how many times and that's why we looked the way we did.
"We had more than enough chances to win the game and could have won it pretty comfortably. We played good attacking football against a team who came with a packed midfield maybe with the intentions of a draw and then found themselves nearly winning.
"Arsenal played five in midfield, like they have a lot of the season and when they do that, they are trying to take control of the midfield and stop you playing.
"They know we are strong at home and made it very difficult for us to play through them. That's why it took some time for us to get into the game and why we created more opportunities in the second half.
"It was a great goal from Michael. I didn't expect him to hit it and I didn't really want him to hit it.
"It seemed so far out to me at the time. it was a fantastic strike, one in a million. It flew in.
"It was just reward for us. Even after that, with five minutes to go, we had three or four clear-cut chances.
"Sometimes when it goes like that, you feel it is not going to be your day, even though you feel it should be."
Chelsea have injury worries over Italian goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini ahead of the clash with Newcastle.
If he fails to recover from his muscle injury in time, Portuguese stopper Hilario will continue in goal. England midfielder Joe Cole is out for at least a month with a broken foot.
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Arsenal fans must love those comments.
Also like to know what he means by -
"The way Manchester United are playing at the moment, everything is going their way."
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wrote:Watching the Video of it again...
TS with a John Terry Agenda? Surely not!!
So the captain is not allowed to go over and save his player's ar$e? I really thought Drogs was getting a straight red for retaliation.
Could so easily have been a penalty (although to be fair to both the ref and his assistant(s), it would be virtually impossible to see that, especially at the speed the incident happened at.