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Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard has expressed his desire to be with the club for the long-term, having overcome a challenging first year in the job that has led to the formation of a young team built primarily around future success.

Lampard was hamstrung by a transfer ban and the loss of star man Eden Hazard to Real Madrid in his first summer in charge of his former club, but the money from selling the Belgian and several other players funded a spending spree in 2020.

Around £220m was spent on Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell and Edouard Mendy. All have immediately strengthened the squad, while Werner, Havertz and Chilwell have long-term upside as well. Only free agent Thiago Silva could be considered short-term.

“I knew there were a lot of circumstances at the beginning that were going to make last year transitional and maybe slightly difficult,” Lampard said in his press conference ahead of the game against Leeds, quoted by the Telegraph.

“I felt like I took the job in a different position to most recent Chelsea managers. I think people sympathise with that as well and I think it was a success. Now I feel like I would love to be part of the long-term plan here,” he added.

“The signings we made in the summer, other than probably Thiago, were signings for now and the future, players that are going to progress and who will mature, and I would love to be part of that. 

“I’m a lucky man to be managing the club that I love and is my life. So, of course, I want to make a success of it and be here as long as I can.”

Lampard was probed around whether the club will stand by him in the long-term, but he remarked that only the club can make that decision and he intends on focusing on what’s immediately ahead of him.

He noted (via Sky Sports): “That will only ever be decided by the owner and the only thing I can do is look at what’s in front of me and at the minute – well since I came in here actually – the relationship I have with Petr has been a huge strength for me because I get on so well with him and I think, hopefully we work well together.

“The communication I have with (director) Marina Granovskaia is very regular. I try and do all the things I can for the club, for the best of the club on and off the pitch and I can’t get much further than that.

As things stand, Chelsea are third in the Premier League table, are unbeaten since losing to champions Liverpool in September, and are the joint highest scorers alongside the Reds. The defence has also massively improved, conceding only once in the last five league games.

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Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has confirmed that his entire squad have returned negative COVID-19 tests following their clash with Newcastle – who have since had a coronavirus outbreak within the camp.

The Magpies’ Premier League fixture against Aston Villa was postponed after an outbreak in the Newcastle squad, and three players who tested positive had been involved in the game at Palace the previous Friday.

After being made aware of the outbreak, Palace subsequently went to extensive lengths to enforce special measures around the club in case there had been any infection, but no players have tested positive.

“They [club staff] worked very hard to make certain the players came in their own cars, that people changed and sat in their cars, that we did not have the usual breakfast and lunch facilities,” Hodgson explained (via the Telegraph).

“We just went straight from the cars onto the training field, then we went directly from the training field back to the car. We did everything to make certain that we weren’t going to be in any environment where players were close together in an indoor area.

“Luckily we had our test that day and the tests all proved negative, so we could get back to a more normal way of working.”

Hodgson added that the proximity of the two dressing rooms and the lack of interaction between the opposition staff during Palace’s clash with Newcastle meant that contact was minimal.

“We are quite lucky that the two dressing rooms are very far apart,” the Eagles manager added. “Apart from the actual match itself, there was no contact between the players.

“The only contact between the staff was that fist pump before the match started. I am not concerned about that because the contact was as near-nil as it could possibly be, other than the fact that to play 90 minutes of football you have to play against an opponent.”

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Jose Mourinho has started the mind games ahead of this weekend’s north London derby, claiming Tottenham ‘didn’t have the money’ to compete with Arsenal for the signature of Willian.

The Brazilian signed for the Gunners on a free transfer last summer following the expiration of his deal with Chelsea. He departed the west London club with a significant medal haul, having won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, a League Cup and the Europa League.

Mourinho and Willian worked together during the Portuguese tactician’s second spell at Stamford Bridge, and while the Spurs boss admitted that he admires him as a player, Spurs weren’t in a position to compete with the financial muscle of Arsenal.

“We don’t have money for Willian,” Mourinho told reporters in his press conference, quoted by the
Telegraph. “We cannot pay the wages that he gets at Arsenal so I didn’t want to waste our time because we cannot pay these wages.

“He is still dangerous, he is still one of the best players in the Premier League. Apart from that, he is a good friend. I have nothing to hide in relation to that. We keep in touch, we keep in contact, we call each other. We wish good things to each other. He is my friend and of course he is a very good player.”

This Sunday’s clash will be the second north London derby Mourinho has taken charge of Spurs for, having masterminded their 2-1 over Arsenal in July.

The fixture will see the return of 2,000 fans following the easing of lockdown restrictions, and despite having been with Spurs for little over a year, Mourinho is well aware of the clash’s significance to his side’s supporters.

“It means more when we are not in the position we are now because now we are in such a good position,” he added. “It is a little bit different because we want the points and we are not just like, we want to beat Arsenal because to beat Arsenal is the only good thing we can give to our fans. 

“It happened last season when we played Arsenal in the last part of the season. It was about winning against Arsenal to give something good, to have a good feeling. In this moment, we also look to the table and we are in a good position, fighting for positions in the top part of the table.

“But we never forget the fact that there are historical rivalries and what it means for the fans. Even for people that were not born at Tottenham, and many of us are in this situation. When you arrive at the club you understand the culture, you learn the culture and you share the values with the fans.”

Spurs currently top the Premier League after a superb start to the season, while Arsenal – despite their FA Cup success in August – find themselves down in 14th after a rocky start to 2020/21.

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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is predicting lower points totals in the Premier League this season and says the club to just need to ‘hang in there’ as the project continues. However, there is also fresh speculation linking Thomas Tuchel with the Old Trafford job.

Solskjaer has overseen a difficult start to the season. A positive end to 2019/20 risked being curtailed by an obvious lack of trust in squad rotation and fixture congestion so far in 2020/21 has seen United juggle Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup commitments.

Consistency has been a major issue, bringing external pressure on Solskjaer, although he had won three Premier League games in a row prior to this week’s European disappointment against Tuchel’s Paris Saint-Germain side in the Champions League.

“I don’t think you’ll see the same total points score we have seen the last three seasons, because of the congestion and because of the preparation teams have had,” the United boss is quoted as saying by the Telegraph.

“It’s one of those seasons after a blip, after a defeat, after a bad performance you need to get back on form again because there have been so many examples of teams slipping up when you think maybe they’re going to run away.

“We’re going to do as well as we can, as long as we can, hang in there and keep moving up the table.”

Solskjaer’s future at United and questions over how long he will last have never been far away from the headlines since he was appointed on a permanent basis in 2019. That hasn’t been helped by ex-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino being out of work and available since last November.

Claims from BILD in Germany suggest that United are keeping tabs on Tuchel, who is the latest in a string of PSG bosses to have failed to get the ambitious French club over the line in Europe – although he has certainly come closest after reaching last season’s Champions League final.

The story is that United, should they fail to make it to the Champions League knockout rounds, are interested in the German coach and could approach him at the end of the season when his current PSG contract expires and he is expected to move on.

BILD says there have been no talks, but claims there has been contact in the past.

Solskjaer is banking on the club hierarchy seeing beyond current issues and sticking with the long-term project that is still far from completion. United fell short in the summer transfer window, for example, and are still seeking major strengthening in key positions next summer.

But the Old Trafford legend has also admitted that the short-term cannot be ignored, perhaps aware his job could be in danger if results in the coming weeks are poor.

“From my experience, from my discussions with the club, we think long term,” he said.

“My vision is long term and my discussions with the club have always been long term. But, also, short term, you can’t not think about the next six games.”

Publicly, at least, United are firmly backing Solskjaer. Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward commented last month in the latest financial report that the club is ‘absolutely committed to the positive path we are on under Ole as the team continues to develop’.

Woodward made similar points when he also addressed a recent fans’ forum.

“Of course, we recognise there’s more hard work ahead to achieve the consistency needed to win trophies,” Woodward said, ahead of the West Brom, Everton and Southampton wins. “But we see positive signs on the pitch and the training ground that reinforce our belief in the progress being made by Ole, his coaching team and the players.”

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Mikel Arteta has admitted that Tottenham ‘deserve’ to be above his Arsenal side in the Premier League, though the Spaniard is confident his team can prevail against their north London rivals in this weekend’s derby.

The Gunners are currently languishing in 14th place, a plight made all the more painful by Spurs’ solid start to the campaign which sees them sit top of the table.

A win for Arteta’s side when the two teams meet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend would see them cut the gap to their north London rivals to five points, and while the Gunners boss is confident his men can upset the odds on Sunday, he concedes Spurs deserve to be above them in the current standings.

“The table is like that because they deserve it more than us and they’ve done things better than us,” Arteta told reporters, as quoted by Goal.

“In certain moments in certain games, they have and they have got the results. We have to accept that. But we want to go there and make that gap three points smaller. I think it’s very early in the season to see who is title contenders or not but what you can say is they are in the position they are because they are doing things the right way.

“They are in a great moment, they are full of confidence and you can see how much belief they have in what they do. When they have moments of difficulty, they stick to the plan and they believe they will get the result at some stage and at the moment it’s happening for them.

“They’ve been doing really well and that’s the reason why they are where they are. What we have to look at is where we will be after 38 games in the league. Now what is going to happen after Sunday.

“We go into the game to win and this is the only way we are going to prepare any game at any ground. Have the confidence and belief that we can go there and win the football match.”

Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Rapid Wien on Thursday night saw the return of their fans to the Emirates Stadium for the first time since March due to COVID-19 restrictions.

This weekend’s derby will be the first chance Spurs fans have had to return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in over eight months, and while their return may hand the home side an advantage, Arteta is delighted to have them back.

“A derby without fans is not the same,” he added. “There are certain things that the fans produce. The momentum they are able to give throughout the game and without them it’s not the same.

“We’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time and I’m not going to complain. Honestly, I’d rather play in a stadium with an atmosphere, with some fans and at this moment it’s going to be for them with their supporters and the next week it will be us.”

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