Frank Lampard offers Chelsea outcasts chance to come in from cold with clean slate
FRANK LAMPARD has told his players to prove they belong at Chelsea.
New boss Lampard is wiping the slate clean with the entire squad as they fly off for a pre-season training camp in Ireland.
He said: “Everybody will have the opportunity to show what they can do — their attitude, the way they play and train in pre-season.
“I would be a fool to come here with ideas to freeze anybody out, I want the best out of the squad.
“I’ve no pre-conceived ideas, I have got good knowledge of the squad but I need to see them over the next month.”
Lampard’s stance means £35million outcast Danny Drinkwater has a chance to resurrect his career.
The midfielder, 29, is one of the first batch of players who reported back for work yesterday and flew straight out to Dublin.
He did not play a single minute of competitive action under former boss Maurizio Sarri last season and was told to leave the club before Christmas.
But Drinkwater could get a chance to impress in friendlies with Bohemians on Wednesday and St Patrick’s on Saturday with the Blues’ internationals only returning next week.
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Lampard also believes a two-window transfer ban for breaking rules on signing young foreign players could actually help.
The ex-Derby boss said: “A bonus is I’ll have quite a calm July that I can just concentrate on the team.
“At Derby last year every day agents were ringing me all over the place.”
