The Blues boss was already planning to rotate his squad for a second game in 48 hours, but he is also considering dropping players long-term.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has admitted he is considering dropping players ahead of Aston Villa’s visit to Stamford Bridge on Monday.
Struggling Arsenal Mikel Arteta were the last side to defeat Chelsea after scoring a deserved 3-1 win at the Emirates on Boxing Day, the third loss in four games for the Blues.
Lampard was frustrated and criticized his players who performed particularly poorly in the first half. Now, after hammering his players for “not following the basics”, Lampard has admitted there will be consequences after a bad race.
“The first half was definitely our worst performance of the season as far as I’ve seen it,” Lampard told reporters ahead of his team’s clash with Villa. “We ran out of energy. We are able, in the last four games, to lose three and win only one. It therefore requires a reaction.
“They did [lack character] and the players know it. We were missing the first half. In the second half we didn’t, to be honest, and some players will come out with the credit for the second half performance. But today we did it.
“I’m not going to generalize that this is the case because it is not. But today we did and football will punish you if you show up and miss those kind of basics in your game.
“There will be changes and I knew it anyway. I’m definitely not going to hit the drums about the speed of execution after our performance today. This is not the reason. We play two games in two days and [changes] would have happened anyway.
“Some of it will happen because of the way the game went and people will have to come in and inject energy and personality.”
Chelsea have to count the cost of their efforts in the London derby ahead of the game against Dean Smith’s side, who are one of the seven teams above them in the Premier League after 15 games.
Ahead of the game, Lampard confirmed that Hakim Ziyech remains injured, but hinted that Callum Hudson-Odoi will start. The 20-year-old was one of the few brilliant players on the bench against the Gunners after coming at halftime for an out of form Timo Werner.
“Some people wanted to talk to us about title contenders but I never accepted that because we are not there,” he added. “It takes time to build and days like today are the ones we need to learn great lessons from.
“You learn about the players and the players have to learn about themselves. Some of them are young and some of them are new to the Premier League and these tough times are things we will have to go through.
“I don’t think this season was going to be easy, winning every week. We became confident and found ourselves in a position where we weren’t losing games and winning a lot of games.
“When you lose a few games things get a lot harder and the only way out is through combat and hard work. That’s what I’m going to instill in the players – this idea – because it’s the only way out. which is a difficult little time for us. “
Chelsea will next face a fit villa ahead of Manchester City’s visit after the New Year.
Lampard spoke of his respect for the Midlands team and the impact his legendary Blues compatriot John Terry has had as Villa assistant manager.
“I’m sure John has an influence because he’s one of the greatest center-backs who has played in the Premier League for England and around the world for a long time and an absolute wealth of knowledge”, a- he added.
“His contribution will be invaluable to Dean Smith and all the hard working staff and team. You’ve seen a big improvement and I’m sure there’s a lot of hard work behind the scenes from John and all the staff.
“I think it’s a good team with very good individual players. They have added very well to their roster off season. Good manager, good coaches and good players who play well and they are having a really good time. at the moment.
“I am not completely surprised. It will be a tough game. ”
