Chelsea winger Florent Malouda hoping to rack up pre-season wins

Florent Malouda, Chelsea (Getty Images)

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Florent Malouda is looking forward to a return to football following the summer break.

The Chelsea winger has had the summer off to recharge his batteries following the end of last season.

During his time off the Blues have appointed Andre Villas-Boas as their new manager as they look to overcome the disappointment of the previous year where they failed to land a trophy, culminating in the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti.

Malouda played 45 minutes in a 3-0 win over Wycombe in a behind closed doors fixture on Tuesday and said it was good to get that winning feeling back.

“To be back on the pitch, even if it was a friendly, was good and it was important to start the pre-season well,” he told the club’s official website.

“So I think we were very serious and did a good job because I remember last year we lost all our friendly games.

“Even if it is a friendly we have to get back to that feeling of winning so we must be happy with first game, first win.

“Everybody was pleased because we were working very hard in training to put everything together. Even though we are training in the morning and afternoon, a game like this is very important to get back to the normal distances, to get back to our full fitness so yes, there were many reasons to be happy.”

Malouda is glad to be back on the pitch again and is hoping that Chelsea can start winning straight away when they start playing in front of spectators again, beginning with Saturday’s trip to Portsmouth.

“No matter what the opponent is, we always enjoy it when we play and there is a good crowd,” he said.

“We know the fanbase there is very good, Portsmouth have really good fans in my opinion and it is really good in a pre-season game when you have this kind of atmosphere.

“That is what we are looking for and it is good because it helps us to concentrate and it puts a little bit of pressure on the game, and we have to come back to this type of pressure for the new season.”

The last time Malouda played Portsmouth it was the 2010 FA Cup final, where the Blues triumphed, although the Frenchman admits he was sad to see Pompey subsequently relegated from the Premier League after all their financial troubles.

He added: “I was pleased with the game every time we came to play at Portsmouth but I remember it was really sad after the Cup final and they were relegated.

“So I wish they come back in the Premier League because it is a good club with a good fanbase and hopefully we can play against them next year in the Premier League.”