Four-Goal Lampard Losing Patience With Chelsea?
There is speculation that Frank Lampard is running out of patience with Chelsea as the club delay a new contract offer.
Frank Lampard reminded Chelsea - and any potential suitors - of his worth as a goalscoring midfielder by rattling in four goals as Chelsea shook off their Barnsley hangover with a 6-1 pasting of dire Derby last night.
Yet his future at Stamford Bridge remains uncertain. Despite enduring an injury-disrupted campaign, Lampard has already notched 17 goals for the Blues this season, and he has said he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge.
But he also says the club has not yet made him any offer.
He told the Daily Mail: “I've been approached a few times by the club saying they are going to come to me with something and they haven't.
"That means they're saying they will have to wait until the summer and I don't really know what that means. I said at the beginning of the season I didn't want to talk about my contract because I wanted to concentrate on my football.
“They have made contact but it hasn't been with any news. They've been saying that something is going to happen but if we wait until the summer and nothing happens then I've got a year left which is not a position I want to be in.
“I've made it very clear I want to stay here and I want to know what's going on. I love playing for this club, I'm enjoying the greatest days of my career. Every time I run out for the club I don't think about the contract but when I am at home I would like it to be sorted out.
“It's dragged on this season and that's not ideal for me.”
Last night's fourgoal virtuoso performance was the fourth time in his career that Lampard has hit three goals or more in a match, and he is the first Chelsea player to score four in a game since Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink performed the feat in 2000.
Lampard said: “It's the first time I've scored four at the top level and it feels very nice to do it, especially from midfield.
“I had a feeling before the match that I might do well. I didn't play against Barnsley at the weekend so I felt very fresh and although I missed a chance in the first few minutes, once I scored the penalty I felt that I could bomb on from midfield and get in a lot of goalscoring positions. No disrespect to Derby but you know how the season has panned out for them and they look like a team who are despondent. Credit to them, though, because they still worked hard.
“We knew this was an opportunity to get a few goals and improve our goal difference. The outcome of the title could go down to goal difference at the end of the season but we just need to win our games now.”
Chelsea manager Avram Grant commented: “We need to continue winning and playing like we've done for most our league games and then, who knows?”
goal.com