JAKARTA - Frank Lampard said he wanted to build a strong relationship within the Chelsea squad. He took his relationship with Didier Drogba as an example.
Building team chemistry is definitely one of the Chelsea manager's top goals, especially with the new batch of players arriving last summer.
In their last match against Rennes in the Champions League, for example, there were five summer recruits in the starting line-up; Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva and Edouard Mendy - who barely knew each other a few months ago.
And Lampard believes communication is key to building relationships and he has tried to apply that in the dressing room and training ground.
“The more they talk, the more I [encourage] them to talk [to each other], to have that connection; where you want the ball, when you want it, how you want it - those are big things for the team, "Lampard told Chelsea's official website.
"They don't have to come all night, but I definitely want to promote it and we need to do a lot more."
Lampard emphasizes the importance of maintaining relationships even when the players are off the pitch, as he did with Drogba.
"No, it comes from work," he added when asked if his partnership with the former Ivory Coast international was a natural one.
“We are good friends, we have a very good relationship off the pitch. Exactly [like] my last answer, we talked a lot.
Referring to the number of passes he sent to Drogba, Lampard admitted it was a pass he liked.
"Every time I feel like I get the ball [and pass it], I know Didier will run and we talk about it - where exactly he wants it, the defender he feels will be sucked into the first move and we can get in at the back," continued Lampard.
"It's football. It takes work, it takes relationships, you can't do anything on your own. Now we have to build that relationship across the team."
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