3/1 To Win
Frank Lampard’s squad has been back out on the training pitch this week putting in the hard work that is demanded of them, but the Derby County manager believes it is important to find the right balance during the international break.
It has been a hectic, but productive, schedule for the Rams since the October international break - picking up 10 out of a possible 15 points in the Sky Bet Championship - as well as putting in an impressive performance against Premier League Chelsea in a 3-2 defeat at Stamford Bridge in the Carabao Cup.
With club action put on hold for another fortnight of international fixtures, Lampard believes the time is crucial for his players to not only get some hard training in under their belts, but to take the opportunity to rest and prepare for a hectic and relentless Christmas schedule that is looming.
Speaking to RamsTV, Lampard said: “The lads had a few days rest after the Aston Villa game and I think it was important for multiple reasons.
“We have worked hard over a really good period of games for us, we have picked up some good results. We didn’t against Aston Villa, but sometimes you need a rest after those as well.
“It’s a balance, we need to use the days for players to have time with their families and forget about football for a few days. Then we work hard to be ready for Sheffield Wednesday and onwards.
“As in all the breaks so far, the players work really hard, they take their rest and they come back strong.”
The Rams manager and his staff expect the highest quality from the players in training and see this time as the perfect opportunity to build as a team.
Minus a handful of players out representing their respective nations, Lampard has explained that the squad will be using this time without the interruption of games to ramp up the intensity of training.
He insists it is the behind the scenes work that set the foundations for the season and he is happy with what he has been seeing.
“These periods are quite nice especially for the collective team work that we can do. I’m all about training, I think it is so important,” Lampard said.
“It is easy to just pinpoint the games and talk about the selection for games or look at appearances, but if you don’t train at a top level those appearances aren’t going to be as much.
“The players know I demand that and they produce, they work hard in training and I’m pleased with what I see. That will be what will hopefully get us the results we need moving forward.”
After playing three games inside a week for the majority of the season so far, the Rams face another hectic week coming out of the international break, before their schedule settles down ahead of the busy Christmas period.
Again, Lampard emphasised the importance of balance when switching to longer timeframes between games and the team’s ability to adapt to the switching schedules.
“We are used to the busy three-game week, we had that straight away. We have Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke and Swansea once we return to action and then it kind of goes week-to-week towards Christmas when we know it is busy always,” Lampard explained.
“We will just have to manage it. I played a career playing lots and lots of games, I enjoyed playing games and I’m sure if you ask the players they will say the same. It is a balance of when the games are there, we must be fresh and attack them in the right way.
“When we have long weeks, we balance it out again with bits of work you can do and just approaching things differently. Any team that is going to be successful in this league has to learn that because it is not going to change, so we will be ready.”
