Chelsea Manager Frank Lampard says the players are at risk over hectic fixtures in the Premier League, the blues boss will play a London derby against Arsenal on boxing day and he will also in action two days later.
Lampard stated this in a press conference ahead of Arsenal clash, he said that his players are not getting the deserved rest they are suppose to get due to the premier league schedule.
“It is counter-productive to the quality of the Premier League and it is a risk for players if they are going to play both games,’ he begins. ‘At the top end of elite sport everybody knows that.”
“The Aston Villa game is being broadcast live as they all are now and we play Arsenal on Boxing Day, that is there, and our game with Man City has now been pushed to the Sunday, so the schedule meant that we could have played Aston Villa on Tuesday. They wanted an extra day rest and so did we, but we got overruled by both the Premier League and the broadcasters.”
“This was bounced around, it got decided that we play twice in 48 hours when other teams that are challenging at the top of the Premier League have an extra day’s recovery. I don’t see how it is a fair playing field, I think it is wrong and it is not going to be the best for the players to play at their top level.”
‘Don’t get me wrong, Aston Villa have the same problem, but we are not getting the rest period that other teams are getting.’
Lampard believes the tight fixtures will mean it is impossible for him to select the two starting sides without making multiple changes in the team.
‘I can’t expect to get a high-energy and high-level performance out of them. Every club in the Premier League has sports scientists, and when we play now it is the second day after a game when we will be training as a second-day recovery, because it is not good for the players to even train at a high or medium level, let alone play 90 minutes.
‘Everybody club in the Premier League knows that, the Premier League knows that, so they have to inform the broadcasters. The broadcasters are looking for the best product.
‘I will have to rotate players, I will have to see after Arsenal where players are in their fitness, every individual is different, we will do our best to get the turnaround right.’
