New partner Werner tops for Tammy
TAMMY Abraham believes the arrival of Timo Werner at Chelsea has made him a better player.
Many pundits thought the German would edge the England striker out of Frank Lampard’s team — but instead they are forming a partnership that has driven the Blues into the title race.
Abraham hit the target for the third game in a row in a convincing weekend success against Newcastle at St James’s Park.
That has left Chelsea in third spot in the table just behind Liverpool and Tottenham. It makes next weekend’s London derby against former boss Jose Mourinho’s men one of the games of the season.
The hitman said: “I have always believed in myself, so I told myself I’ve got to get back in that team, work hard every day and improve.
“When your chance comes, grab it with your two hands and that’s what I feel like I’m doing.
“Every time I step out there, I always know there is competition and that I have to be at my best and give 100 per cent.
Challenge
“So that’s the way I look at it. We drive one another. You have to put on a performance every single time.”
Lampard has been trying to keep a lid on talk of a title challenge but he knows that will be harder the longer Chelsea stay near the summit.
The Bridge boss said: “I’m certainly not going to think at the moment after eight or nine games it would be very easy to get excited about being in a high, lofty position.
“But we are improving ourselves. I think the first port of call this year was to close the gap to the top two Liverpool and City, who have set different levels of consistency through a season and amassing points, so we can’t get carried away with ourselves at this early stage.
We have to try to reach those levels of consistency and I’m just happy with where we’re at now, so we will have to see.
“I’m not going to smile too much at the league table. It’s nice to have three points when you are the first game of the weekend. But I know the league table will change.
“We can only worry about ourselves and our form has meant we’re in a decent position.
“But consistency and doing it over a big period is the next test for us.”