Lampard: I believe in the quality of all the young players

Frank Lampard believes Chelsea will not go crazy in January just because the transfer ban has been lifted, and says he is very happy with his current squad, writes Yann Tear.

The Blues are still very much a work in progress and their lack of ruthlessness nearly cost them in Tuesday night’s nervy Champions League win over Lille.

But they have qualified for the last-16 of the competition and are handily placed in the Premier League as we approach halfway.

“I believe in the quality of all the young players here,” said the Chelsea boss. “We want them all to get better and they’re willing to improve.

“I’m calm about this window. I know what the squad is. We feel very together in the dressing room. I think we are improving. I believe in what we’ve got now and I don’t think we’re going to go crazy just because the ban has been lifted.

“Eden Hazard was a huge part of scoring or creating our goals last season and the season before, but I think we’ve found ways as a team where we can still be competitive.”

Lampard was pleased with the way Chelsea controlled the game for the most part, but concedes they must learn how to put games to bed when they are in charge.

“We can get even better in forward areas [and] be more clinical,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s killer instinct, we’re just at the moment not converting enough.

“We are in the next stage which is a good achievement for the group, but we know how cut-throat it’ll be and the sort of opposition we’re looking at being up against, and we can’t afford to miss chances or to give chances away.”

Asked about the next stage of the competition, and Monday’s draw, Lampard said: “I’ll be watching it pretty calmly.

We came second in our group and any game we get in the next stage will be tough, but we should be very pleased to be there.”