Frank Lampard hints he will retire when he stops scoring goals for Chelsea

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has suggested he will retire from football as soon as he fails to maintain his high standards.

The 33-year-old is still seen as a focal point of the Chelsea starting XI by new boss Andre Villas-Boas, despite an injury-plagued season last year which hampered the former West Ham player’s performances.

After a positive start to pre-season, with Lampard scoring from the penalty spot in Wednesday’s 4-0 victory over Kitchee in the Barclays Asia Trophy, the England international also believes he is ready to lead his side’s challenge to recapture the Premier League title.

Speaking to reporters, Lampard said: “Pre-season is always been about getting yourself fresh and I really feel I’m getting there. If I didn’t feel I was getting there I wouldn’t want to hang around too long.

“I love getting into the box, getting up and down the pitch. I know I can do it now and, hopefully, I can do it for a few more years. But I know that day will come – although I’ll probably be sold before then!

“I do have to look after myself. There are plenty of things I do in the gym, I am with the masseuses occasionally.

“You look at people who hang around in their 30s and they have to be disciplined about what they do.”

Lampard also readily admitted his performances dropped last season following a prolonged absence through injury.

“Last season was a stand-out season for me. I have been lucky enough to have gone through season after season without picking up injuries,” said Lampard.

“That actually hit me harder – because I had been so lucky. Now I have been away, freshened up and, touch wood, I haven’t felt my groin at all.

“It is much harder when you aren’t used to being injured. The frustration is there from the start.

“It was probably harder coming back, because I didn’t feel at my best. If I am honest, I was not at my best when I came back but that’s behind me now. My job now is to get my fitness levels high and look forward to the coming season.

“It’s been a case of coming here and shaking off my cobwebs. Individually, you try to improve. You want to get the sharpness back and the combinations together as a unit. I think you have seen us improve game by game.”

Villas-Boas reserved praise for Lampard’s versatility following Wednesday’s clash in Hong Kong, and the midfielder is happy to switch positions as long as it means he remains in the side.

“I don’t mind where I play. I have actually played there a deeper role in midfield for England fairly regularly,” he added.

“But I do like to get forward and this won’t be a role that will stop me getting into the box. As long as I am never told not to stray beyond the halfway line, I’ll be happy.

“I have never been that kind of defensive player anyway. Some people can play there but I don’t think so.”

Despite the lack of big name arrivals so far in the summer transfer window at Stamford Bridge, Lampard is confident that the Blues will challenge Manchester United much harder for the title in the coming campaign.

“It is up to the manager, just how far he freshens up the team,” he continued. “He is the kind of guy who seems to think very deeply and very wisely about how far he needs to take the team.

“He knows he has a good squad and, but for that three-month period from November to January, when Chelsea won just two of 10 league games – which was of our own making, really – we would have won the league.

“You can’t keep looking back but for a long period of time we were not at our best and having started the season so well and finishing it so well to give ourselves a shot at it.

“It was quite frustrating. United were deservedly champions but what I do know is that we won’t let them off so easily next time.”