Frank Lampard<\/a> has suggested he will retire from football as soon as he fails to maintain his high standards.<\/span><\/p>\nThe 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\u2019s performances.<\/span><\/p>\nAfter a positive start to pre-season, with Lampard scoring from the penalty spot in Wednesday\u2019s 4-0 victory over Kitchee in the Barclays Asia Trophy, the England international also believes he is ready to lead his side\u2019s challenge to recapture the Premier League title.<\/span><\/p>\nSpeaking to reporters, Lampard said: \u201cPre-season is always been about getting yourself fresh and I really feel I\u2019m getting there. If I didn\u2019t feel I was getting there I wouldn\u2019t want to hang around too long.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI 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\u2019ll probably be sold before then!<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI do have to look after myself. There are plenty of things I do in the gym, I am with the masseuses occasionally.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cYou look at people who hang around in their 30s and they have to be disciplined about what they do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nLampard also readily admitted his performances dropped last season following a prolonged absence through injury.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cLast season was a stand-out season for me. I have been lucky enough to have gone through season after season without picking up injuries,\u201d said Lampard.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThat actually hit me harder – because I had been so lucky. Now I have been away, freshened up and, touch wood, I haven\u2019t felt my groin at all.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt is much harder when you aren\u2019t used to being injured. The frustration is there from the start.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt was probably harder coming back, because I didn\u2019t feel at my best. If I am honest, I was not at my best when I came back but that\u2019s behind me now. My job now is to get my fitness levels high and look forward to the coming season.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nVillas-Boas reserved praise for Lampard\u2019s versatility following Wednesday\u2019s clash in Hong Kong, and the midfielder is happy to switch positions as long as it means he remains in the side.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t mind where I play. I have actually played there a deeper role in midfield for England fairly regularly,” he added.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cBut I do like to get forward and this won\u2019t 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\u2019ll be happy.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI have never been that kind of defensive player anyway. Some people can play there but I don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nDespite 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.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt 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.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cHe 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.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cYou can\u2019t 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.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt was quite frustrating. United were deservedly champions but what I do know is that we won\u2019t let them off so easily next time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe rest is here:
\nFrank Lampard hints he will retire when he stops scoring goals for Chelsea<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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\u2019s performances<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-469538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n
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