Frank Lampard has been talking to Chelsea TV ahead of today’s FA Cup third-round tie against Morecambe.
The Chelsea manager was asked about his team selection, having gone for a strong line-up which included the likes of Kurt Zouma, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner.
Billy Gilmour and Tino Anjorin made today’s squad. Youngsters Marcel Lewis, Tino Livramento, Jude Soonsup-Bell and Lewis Bate who trained with the first team this week didn’t get included.
Lampard explained (quotes by Si.com):
“The youngsters have trained well with us but at the same time, sometimes you need to give first-team squad members a game to get some minutes.”
“There’s a few in the team today with a chance to show me something. Because performances in recent weeks have dropped, a game like this is important for players whether that is individually or collectively to pick up a bit of confidence.”
“That’s not to disrespect Morecambe or the competition in anyway, because we have to take this game very seriously as I think the selection shows.
“Nothing is a given in the FA Cup and you have to approach these games in the right way, you have to prepare in the right way and you have to execute your plans in the right way. With the team we have out today, and the strength of the bench, I expect to see that today.”
“I want to see a good performance from us today, I think that is key, but of course we want to win the game as well and progress to the next round of the FA Cup.”
