Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard admits concern over losing England place

Frank Lampard, England

Related Links

Teams

Players

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has insisted that he won’t be resting on his laurels in regards to getting picked for the England team following the side’s 2-0 victory over Wales at the Millennium Stadium.

Two quick-fire first-half goals gave the Three Lions a comfortable victory against their neighbours as Fabio Capello lined up his team in a previously untried 4-3-3 formation.

The 32-year old Chelsea man, who has struggled with injury in a stop-start campaign, admitted that he had considered losing his place in the Italian’s starting line-up ahead of the Euro 2012 qualifier in Cardiff.

He told reporters: “With England, that happens. I’ve been around a long time and been lucky enough to be very regular, and I tried not to let it concern me.

“We don’t get the papers in there but I was aware of the talk. It’s a good squad, a strong squad, and never for any minute should any player be resting on their laurels about getting picked. That’s it.

“I’m 32 now and have been around a long time. So it wasn’t a sleepless night. I obviously want to play and contribute, so I tried to work hard in training and try and give my best all the time.”

The former West Ham man has struggled to find a period of consistency so far this term, having seen a number niggling injuries restrict his starts for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

“It’s been a very difficult season,” said Lampard. “I missed half of it, and I’ve never really had that kind of a break from the game before.

“You miss a ‘pre-season’ feel because you come straight back into football, then I broke down a little bit again with a calf.

“So it’s been a bit stop-start in January and February, but in the last few games for Chelsea I’ve started to feel as fit as I had beforehand.

“That’s a lovely feeling to have back because I was out a long time and it was frustrating being out. But now I’m feeling really good.

“It’s not easy, no. But, when you get back, you have to get used to the fact that you might have certain niggles after having such a bad injury.

“I’m getting to the other side of them now and feeling I don’t go into games worrying about the groin or anything else. I just worry about trying to play.”

Lampard also made sure to praise former Chelsea team-mate Scott Parker after the West Ham midfielder impressed at the Millennium Stadium in a midfield three that also included Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere.

He said: “Scott carried on doing what he does for West Ham. He’s been fantastic at that all season and the benefit of having an extra man in midfield showed itself.

“The three of us in there, particularly in the first half, allowed us to really get a grip of the game. I think it’s nice. It allows you to get a bit more forward. It allows you to get tighter in midfield and, you know, sometimes it’s not that easy.

“We played Denmark in a friendly and, sometimes, when there are people behind you, you can’t always commit to getting tight to their deep-lying midfield players. There was the bonus today of having the extra man in there to allow us to push in tight.

“We won that game early with our performance. We had a plan to press up high, win the ball back quickly and not let them play, and that worked completely.

“They couldn’t get out of their own half much, especially in the first half an hour, and that’s where the game was won: being 2-0 up from there.

“The atmosphere was brilliant. They wanted to use that atmosphere to inspire their players and, when you’ve got that behind you, it does inspire. But, as the team coming here, you have to let it inspire you too.

“We had to win this and it was a game that, on paper, we should have won even if it was not going to be easy. We did it. With Switzerland coming up, if we can win that game as well, we’ll put ourselves in a strong position.”