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Bringing back the bus? Frank Lampard firmly ditches Sarri-ball as he outlines Chelsea philosophy


The new Chelsea boss intends to bring more pragmatism back to the club (Picture: Getty)

Frank Lampard has made it clear that his Chelsea side will move away from the much-criticised Sarri-ball of last season but will not play attacking football every single week.

The Blues legend returned to the club this summer in place of Maurizio Sarri – whose style of play was heavily criticised despite a top-four finish and Europa League glory.

But Lampard has little intention of playing out-and-out attacking football and is more likely to borrow from the pragmatism of another former Chelsea boss, Jose Mourinho, and adapt his gameplan according to the opposition.

Lampard will take charge of his first game away to Manchester United on Sunday (Picture: Getty)

‘The philosophy question is a difficult one. You get asked it a lot. It gets linked straight to attacking football, and that is not what I am trying to do,’ he explained.

‘We have to be adaptable. The idea of playing attacking football every week in the Premier League – good luck with that. It’s tough.

‘We need to be able to understand wherever we go in this league you may have to adapt slightly. We need to be ready to do that. It’s not just about can we go and play this free-flowing beautiful football.’

He continued: ‘I mentioned how much I want us to be good off the ball.

Lampard’s Derby side were adventurous but pressed hard and defended well (Picture: Getty)

‘That’s actually my first call: how fit and how hard we can work without the ball, before talking about what we can do with the ball.

‘I do believe in the talent of this squad, and they can play with freedom on the ball, but we must be difficult to play against. Attacking football, defensive football, it’s all the same.’





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