MARTIN KEOWN ON CHELSEA

CHELSEA’S season is at a crossroads. Finishing in the top four is in their hands but Frank Lampard needs to fall back in love with his players first. I worked with the great Arsene Wenger for a year in coaching and he had a golden rule. I remember him telling me: ‘Martin, in life, it’s always easier to see people’s weaknesses than their strengths. Love your players, don’t hate them.’ Lampard has to follow that advice now. He has to turn a blind eye to the bad habits, the mistakes, the missed chances — less complaining about those negatives and more looking ahead to what you can achieve together. After their 2-0 loss to Manchester United on Monday, Lampard said Chelsea’s season ‘starts now’. If that is the case, then there has to be a clean slate. They have had their winter break and the Chelsea boss mentioned last week how it was ‘good to get away from each other, to recharge and reboot’. Now it’s time for them to come together again. Lampard has been ruthless with his team selections, appearing to take poor performances personally and dropping anyone who lets him down. He has axed Kepa Arrizabalaga, the goalkeeper who cost £71million, for 38-year-old Willy Caballero. He has tinkered with his defence, using back threes and back fours. Who are his first-choice centre backs? Kurt Zouma has started 18 Premier League games, Fikayo Tomori 14, Andreas Christensen 13 and Antonio Rudiger 11. So much chopping and changing can create a nervousness in the camp. It feels as if there is no forgiveness with Lampard but with a young group you’re going to get inconsistency. Christensen and Rudiger have started the last five league games — and kept only one clean sheet — but I’d like to see Lampard stick with those two. Work with them, make them better. Don’t call a problem area a ‘weakness’, like their difficulty in dealing with crosses, call it a ‘development area’. Lampard previously said his side’s best performance this season came at Tottenham in December. There was an air of superiority to Chelsea that day. Rudiger was among the starters and he is arguably the most natural leader in Lampard’s defensive ranks but he’s got to be more dominant in his own box. Harry Maguire became the latest to get the better of him on Monday, heading home to complete United’s win. That blew the race for the

Champions League wide open. Fourth position remains in Chelsea’s hands — and we don’t know what City’s potential European ban could mean for fifth place — but their form is definitely a concern. They have won only once in the league in 2020. Now Mourinho returns as Tottenham boss to Stamford Bridge, a ground where he previously went 77 league games unbeaten. Lampard manned his midfield back then and the high standards he set himself as a player may be interfering with his mindset as a manager. It’s great to set high goals, but you cannot expect youngsters to perform at that same level as consistently as you might have. They need time.