Our head coach earned his first win as head coach yesterday, with Chelsea brushing aside Irish side St Patrick’s Athletic 4-0 at Richmond Park.

A number of young players have been part of the tour to Ireland and Lampard has confirmed that the opportunity to break into the team is there for all his players, regardless of experience, and that having healthy competition for places is a priority.

‘Everyone needs to impress, that’s the bottom line,’ Lampard explained. ‘But definitely the opportunity is there for everyone to become a part of this side.

‘A lot has been made of the younger players that we have here and whether they can force their way into the side. They need to know that if they do well and impress me and my staff, then the opportunity is there for them to be in this side.

‘We have some very good young players here and they have to impress in every game and every training session.