Sir Alex Ferguson used to
call it ‘squeaky bum time’ but Frank Lampard
preferred a less graphic phrase when he warned
his Chelsea team-mates they are entering “crunch
time” in the title race.
The midfielder is unhappy with the limited time his
side have to recover before they face Fulham
today, having travelled to Turkey for their 1-1
Champions League draw with Galatasaray on
Wednesday, but told them it was time to leave
Manchester City behind.
Lampard knows Chelsea can claim a psychological
advantage by opening up a nine point gap to their
key rivals in the next 10 days while City
concentrate on the League Cup final and FA Cup
quarter-finals.
“It’s tight and that would be a nice gap,” Lampard
said of the team his manager, Jose Mourinho, has
repeatedly claimed are favourites. “It’s crunch time
where you have to develop a winning mentality
that even if you play badly, you win.
“But our run since December has been fantastic in
the league, we have put ourselves right up in the
race.”
The fatigue factor could come into play during the
title run – and City as well as Chelsea have an
onerous fixture list.
Lampard called on the Premier League to help their
teams who are still playing in Europe by giving
them more time in between matches.
Chelsea returned from Turkey in the early hours of
Thursday morning and Lampard said: “We don’t
expect any favours. It’s about resting up and
getting ready to go.
“Other countries seem to look after teams
representing them in the Champions League. I’m
not sure we do so much here. I’m not trying to get
one over on other Premier League teams – it just
seems a general rule.
“It would seem like using a bit of common sense if
you are getting home at 6am like I am. We could
have done with Fulham being on a Sunday. But
you don’t get too many favours considering the
journey we have had.”