Premier League Rumors: Lampard Says Inexperience Not An Excuse, Comments On Mourinho

Chelsea FC has had its share of struggles and critics are singling out inexperience as the reason behind it all. The fact that the Blues are banking on young players may be an excuse but it appears Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is not entirely agreeable to that.

As of this writing, Chelsea is barely ahead of Tottenham. Their upcoming match is critical. If the Spurs win, it would allow them to move up to fourth and be within striking distance of Sheffield and Manchester United. With the struggles they have been in, Lampard believes that it is not that easy to pinpoint. He feels that young players should rise to the occasion and keep on pushing.

"It's a big deal and a test for the younger players and I think with the physical nature of the league throughout the season then there were always going to be little dips," Lampard said via Goal.com.

Things have just not been that swell for Chelsea. A lot of their stars are out injured and Lampard has been forced to make do with whoever is available. Among the players out include Christian Pulisic, N'Golo Kante and Callum Hudson-Odoi. Kante will not suit up against the Spurs due to a groin injury while the Blues have yet to give Pulisic the green light to return as mentioned in a previous post.

With Manchester City possibly facing a two-year ban, the fifth-place could be enough for Chelsea to secure qualification into Europe's elite competition next season. Regardless of the verdict, Lampard is more concerned about safeguarding his players moving forward - a reason why he prefers his stars to fully heal than risk aggravating an injury this weekend.

"At the end of the day, no matter what the quality of the player, you want players who want to be here at Chelsea and push to close the gap upwards," Lampard said.

"It's a question for the end of the season. The player you mention [Kante] – we want to be adding to players like that."

Aware that they have their work cut out against Tottenham, Lampard recently downplayed the take of Jose Mourinho on Tottenham's injury woes, Football.london reported. While he is aware that several big players like Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min are out, Lampard believes that the Spurs will remain a bigger threat even without their top stars.

"I watched the interview and they’re always interesting," Lampard said. "In terms of Dele Alli, his goals record... he’s a fantastic player, and Moura... I went through that already."