Frank Lampard believes Andre Villas-Boas

Frank Lampard believes Andre Villas-Boas spent too much time looking ahead to the future of Chelsea and lost sight of the present. As one of the older players who lost his automatic first-team place as Villas-Boas looked to refresh the side, Lampard openly admitted his relationship with the Portuguese was difficult. Villas-Boas was sacked earlier this month and his fractious relationship with some of his senior players was one of the factors behind his downfall. 

Lampard and Ashley Cole were left out of the side for the first leg of their Champions League tie against Napoli, which they lost 3-1 in Italy. And the 33-year-old told The Sun Sunday: "His plan was long-term. But somewhere in the middle of that, the present didn't go so well - and that's where the problems came. Lampard admitted he had told Villas-Boas what he thought of that decision, adding: "I wasn't disrespectful. I just told him I thought I should be playing." 

He added: "I told him what I felt and he had no problem with me saying it. I wasn't making a stand. The fact we might not have seen eye to eye was irrelevant to me." "He thanked me for being a top professional, which I appreciated," Lampard said. "A lot of people think the players didn't play for him or respond. We did but it just didn't work out." "To be fair to AVB, that was part of the remit and I get that we need to move on and change. But you can't lose sight of the present."