Chelsea caretaker boss Frank Lampard has insisted that he has inherited an unfit squad of players. The Blues have fallen to three straight defeats under Lampard after sacking Graham Potter at the start of the month.
Lampard's return to Stamford Bridge over the weekend ended in disaster as Brighton & Hove Albion won 2-1 in west London. The defeat was Chelsea's 12th of the season, leaving them 17 points behind the Champions League places.
With a daunting Champions League tie against Real Madrid on the horizon - with the Blues 2-0 down from the first-leg - Lampard's second stint in charge isn't likely to get easier.
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However, the former Blues midfielder has already highlighted a key reason why the club are struggling on all fronts this season. Speaking after the defeat to Brighton on Saturday, Lampard claimed his side are not on the same level physically as their rivals.
"At the minute, it has been mostly conversations and meetings rather than training pitch stuff," he said. "Training stuff was all pretty walkthrough and low level because of the [tiredness] in the legs.
"It is more about speaking to the players individually. When we do get the chance to work, I think the team needs some physical work. I think that's important because at this level you have to be right on the limit and we are not on the limit right now.
“I think that can be a capacity thing with the players for whatever reason. It doesn’t matter how we got there but it needs to be addressed now.”
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