Yahoo Finance Frank Lampard hopes for ‘air of positivity’ after Chelsea beat Luton in FA Cup
Frank Lampard was pleased with an improved showing from his Chelsea players in the FA Cup fourth round against Luton, with the Blues progressing with a 3-1 win.
Tammy Abraham netted all three for Chelsea, while Timo Werner missed a late chance to add gloss from the penalty spot.
Having been under pressure ahead of the game due to sub-standard results in Premier League matches, Lampard acknowledged it was an important game to win and progress further in the competition and praised some of the younger names in the side for their showing.
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“It is important to go through and this is clearly a competition we have had success with in the modern era. Expectations are that we go through in this tie but in practice that's not as simple as it sounds," Lampard told reporters after the game.
“I always need results, this is Chelsea. People expect us to get into the next round and they expect a lot in terms of our league position. My job is to see the inside and know the work that we need to do.
“We’ve got a lot of young players who are coming through. Billy Gilmour comes in and I thought he was outstanding, Mason Mount was captain and that’s another part of his progression. People will look very closely at this moment, I try to see the bigger picture.
“But of course I wanted the result today because it gives a nice air of positivity around us and gets us into the next round.
“We’re still in two cup competitions, Champions League and FA Cup, and we want to win more points in the league.”
Lampard praised Abraham for his treble, saying the goals will keep his confidence up, and had support for Werner despite his spot-kick miss, insisting that the goals will begin to flow for the German soon.
“When it’s not going for you, it can happen. I missed penalties, I know the feeling. I know he will feel despondent, maybe now and the last few minutes of the game, but he shouldn’t be. It’s my job and his teammates’ job to lift him and he will be fine.
“It was almost a sign of what’s going on for Timo at the minute, it’s not quite dropping for him. But there will be a time when he takes penalties without thinking about it and hits the back of the net without thinking about it. At the moment that’s not quite the time for Timo, but it will come and hopefully soon."
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