Chelsea veteran Frank Lampard does not want to look back after he is ready to take on arguably the toughest challenge of his career till date- the challenge of managing a team which he used to play for.
Speaking at a press conference in Japan, where his side are playing a couple of friendly matches, he said that he was happy with the overall depth of the squad. However, he has an expectation that his team works hard indeed in the pre-season.
Notably, Lampard’s return to Chelsea as the manager was confirmed earlier this month.
“For me the story is not to look backwards,” said Lampard.
“I know the club very well, I know the players very well. I have my own way that I want to work with the players,” he added while addressing the media at Yokohama where the Blues are set to meet Kawasaki Frontale on Friday.
He acknowledged that taking on a coaching role with Chelsea will be quite a task with their player Eden Hazard going to Real Madrid.
“I think I inherited very good players. We cannot bring in any players we know that… But I’m very happy with the squad.
“My job now is to work hard in pre-season with them. I like my teams to play with a lot of energy and speed, with and without the ball, so I want to win it back as quickly as we can,” he said.
Chelsea’s new inclusion Christian Pulisic is listed as one of the team members for the friendly games in Japan but it is not yet clear when he will land in Japan.
Interestingly, Chelsea’s present coach was one of their best players during his playing days. He won as many as 13 trophies in 13 years.
Lampard will now have to prove himself in this new avatar.