Chelsea hero Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink doubts whether some Stamford Bridge youngsters will make it at the club after watching Frank Lampard’s first game in charge of the side.
The Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by Bohemians in Dublin on Wednesday evening as a late equaliser cost Lampard a victory in his first match as Chelsea manager.
It was an inexperienced team which Lampard fielded with the likes of Dujon Sterling, Conor Gallagher, Marc Guehi and Kasey Palmer all starting the game.
After watching the Irish side cancel out a Michy Batshuayi opener, Hasselbaink thinks the speed of play showed that some of the younger players might not have what it takes to make it at Chelsea.
‘They lost the ball way too easy,’ Hasselbaink said. ‘Players were having too many touches, sometimes seven, eight touches and it slows the game down.
‘It will be a lesson for Frank to see players and in a way it will make his mind up.
‘Moving the ball fast is his idea of how he wants to play the game. The majority of successful teams do move the ball quickly.
‘We saw today, especially in the second half, certain players were dwelling a little bit too much on the ball. They didn’t have a solution before they had the ball.
‘It might be that it’s pre-season, it might be that they’re not fit yet and it will come.
‘For some it might be a little too much. That is for Frank to figure out, who those players are and who he will go further with. That’s why those games are so important.’
Lampard was keen to play down the end result and focus on the key issue of getting his squad fit for the Premier League season which begins next month.
The former England international disagrees with his former team-mate and believes that some of the youngsters were impressive in Ireland.
‘It was a tough game for us,’ said Lampard. ‘We haven’t been back for long and this was our first game after just a few days so there was a bit of pressure on the lads to work today.
‘We’ve been working them very hard and we did the same this morning as well. I want to stretch them because that’s what pre-season is all about.
‘We wanted to win obviously because you always do but it’s not about that at this point – it’s about individuals getting fit and pushing themselves to the limit.
‘We were pleased with the outcome and I thought some of the performances, particularly from some of the young lads, were really good.’
Chelsea are back in action against St Patrick’s Athletic on Saturday in Dublin.
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