Lampard may suffer Blues for lot longer

Lampard this week admitted he was unhappy at being rotated in and out of the Blues’ starting XI since Villas-Boas took charge, claiming he always played better when given a run of matches.

But Villas-Boas was not for turning yesterday, saying: “The situation with every player in the world is that everybody wants to play and everybody wants to feel part of a team.

“But in squads of 25, 26 players, there are always the people who want to go back into the team.

“It’s the most normal thing and all of them expect to play.

“This is part of the day-to-day life on management. Frank, like other players, is fighting for his place and he’s been involved in almost every game.”

After starting three of Chelsea’s previous four matches on the bench, Lampard was recalled for the 1-1 Champions League draw at Valencia.

With tomorrow’s trip to Bolton on Sunday coming just four days after their match in Valencia, Villas-Boas might be tempted to leave out Lampard.

“We have plenty of time to recover, so I think, physically, the team will respond accordingly,” said Villas-Boas, who will be without the suspended Fernando Torres.