Villas-Boas not willing to let Lampard go

ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS has described his relationship with Frank Lampard as “fantastic”, though he has stressed that team selection at Chelsea will continue to be based upon form rather than reputation.

Lampard, one of the players deemed “untouchable” by the former manager Jose Mourinho and a veteran of 535 games at the club, found himself on the bench for the key fixtures against Valencia, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur last month. That led to some frustration from the 33-year-old, who claimed not to have spoken to Villas-Boas about the issue.

Yet, with LA Galaxy monitoring the player’s potential availability in the summer, the Portuguese has insisted the England midfielder remains a key part of his plans “for the long term”, even if no one will be considered an automatic selection for the team. “Our relationship is fantastic,” said Villas-Boas. “Frank is a player who is not available at any price.

“He is not ‘in and out in rotation’. There is no such thing here. We decide on an XI which is strong for a particular game, and that can help us in the strategy to win that game. Frank has been decisive in the last couple of games with the timing of his arrival in the box to solve problems for the team. Has he spoken to me about it? We speak every day. We see each other every day.”

Lampard’s goal in the FA Cup third-round defeat of Portsmouth on Sunday was his 10th of the campaign, suggesting he remains a threat from midfield, though the player has always said that his best form is generated by a regular run.

While he will hope to begin tomorrow’s visit of Sunderland to Stamford Bridge, he has only four starts in the past seven Premier League matches.

“Every player wants to find that consistency and playing time,” Villas-Boas said. “You read what [Florent] Malouda said recently about that, too. It’s normal everybody wants to be involved. Frank, with the player he is and the history he represents, wants to be involved all the time, but every player is competing for a place.

“I’ve said the same all season, even when Frank had more playing time and others didn’t. Everyone is fighting to be in it, and a player of Frank’s level has a shorter distance to travel to be in the team than others.”

Guardian Service