ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: FRANK LAMPARD has suggested that winning the Premier League on Sunday would be as great an achievement as Chelsea's two titles under Jose Mourinho and said they deserved the trophy as reward for their resilience in a "difficult season".
“It’s been a season of peaks and troughs,” said Lampard. “To win the title under Jose Mourinho, especially the first year, was an amazing feeling and sensation. But this one, with the ups and downs we’ve experienced, feeling the low points of the season and the togetherness we’ve needed to come through . . . well, to go and achieve it now would be great. We’re within touching distance now.”
Lampard cited a clear-the-air meeting overseen by Carlo Ancelotti after Chelsea’s European elimination and an apparently costly draw at Blackburn as having inspired the club to the brink of their first league and cup double.
A win at Liverpool on Sunday ensured Chelsea will play Wigan on the final day knowing a win will bring a first title in four years, with the FA Cup final against Portsmouth to come.
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez said his team would compete at Stamford Bridge “for the good of football”.
Lampard said Chelsea were intent on taking their chance.
“We’ve had to dig in,” Lampard said. “I’ll not lie – it’s been a fairly difficult season at times. There have been moments when we’ve lost points and had a few difficult periods, none more so than when we lost to Internazionale and then drew at Blackburn.
“That was the moment to dig in. Credit to the staff for that. We’ve always had a great spirit here but we dug a bit deeper this year. We understood what we had to do and the reaction since then is what’s put us in this position with a game to go. If we do go on and win it now, we’ll have deserved to have won it.”
Those setbacks in March prompted the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, to address the players at the club’s training complex. Ancelotti subsequently spoke at length to his squad, seeking to ascertain why a team that had flourished in January had then stuttered. Chelsea have won seven of their eight games since.
“I didn’t think we’d lost the title after Blackburn but it was one of those situations where you couldn’t really look ahead and see us winning it,” said Lampard.
“It was only that heart-to-heart, where the players got things off their chest, which allowed us to move on together. A lot of credit needs to go to the manager for that.
“There’s a lot of talent in this squad, a load of ability, and you have to walk out with a bit of cockiness. That’s what the best teams have always done. Maybe there had been times when we had gone back into our shells and not been together quite as much over the past couple of seasons. But we’ve certainly got our house in order over the past two months.”
Wigan will be without Chris Kirkland, Titus Bramble and Marcelo Moreno and possibly Charles N’Zogbia. They have not won in London in 19 attempts since December 2006. This season they have conceded nine goals at White Hart Lane and four at the Emirates Stadium. However, they beat Chelsea at the DW Stadium in September and beat Arsenal 3-2 there last month.
Martinez said: “Not many people will expect us to get anything out of the game but we will make sure we are as good as we can be. We have never gone into a game to draw or for a damage limitation exercise, but this is not a difficult game just for Wigan Athletic but for any team in the Premier League. We go there with nothing to lose and football is about dreams.
“We will not be playing for Manchester United. We will be playing for ourselves and for the good of football. The world of football will be watching and I can guarantee there is a belief in this squad that on our day we can compete with anyone.
“We know how difficult it is going to be but we are going there to win. It will be a unique challenge for our players.”
Guardian Service
