LONDON • Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has said that his team's recent poor run of results makes his job at Stamford Bridge more exciting and gives him an opportunity to learn more about himself and his players.
Expectations were high at the start of the Blues' campaign after they spent more than £200 million (S$359 million) on new players in the summer, but Lampard's position has come under scrutiny with four defeats in their last six Premier League games leaving them ninth in the table.
He is hoping for a reaction from his players when they host Morecambe in the FA Cup third round today, before a west London derby against Fulham on Friday.
"I came into this job expecting pressure," Lampard said.
"Now I find this more challenging in a good way in terms of my job, because I can find out more about myself, I can find out more about every member of the team and the staff. And it actually makes my job more exciting."
The Chelsea boss said midfielder N'Golo Kante and defender Andreas Christensen are out with injuries, with fullback Reece James already on the sidelines.
Five Chelsea academy graduates - Tino Anjorin, Jude Soonsup-Bell, Lewis Bate, Tino Livramento and Henry Lawrence - could feature today, having trained with the first team this week.
"It is a great experience for them," Lampard said.
"It is great to be able to gauge young players on not only how quickly they take to the football side, but (also) how quickly their personalities take to the uplift in pressure and level of training."
The 42-year-old also has no qualms about his ability to keep his players focused in bad times.
"I don't think there was a season I played at this club, for all the success we had over the years, where we didn't have difficult moments - a defeat, or a double defeat, a run of bad matches, a bad month, a bad period," he said.
"It's part and parcel, so I'm the first one that has to be positive and get excited about the fact that losing games is the biggest chance to improve in football."
Chelsea will hope to put last weekend's 3-1 loss to Manchester City behind. Pep Guardiola's men, who followed up that victory with a 2-0 League Cup semi-final win over Manchester United on Wednesday, host second-tier Birmingham City today.
The City manager said Sergio Aguero could make his first start since October.
The striker has played nine games in all competitions this season after missing the start of the campaign following knee surgery.
He last started for City in a 1-1 Premier League draw at West Ham on Oct 24, when he was withdrawn at half-time with a hamstring problem.
"The feeling in the last 10 days - two weeks, his reaction in his knee has been really good," Guardiola said. "It will be great to have Sergio back and in good condition."
Defender Kyle Walker and striker Gabriel Jesus, who were among six players who tested positive for Covid-19, will undergo a late fitness test. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Ederson, winger Ferran Torres and defender Eric Garcia are still self-isolating.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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