Frank Lampard has set his number one priority as defending our Barclays Premier League crown, but acknowledges there is still work to be done before the season starts.
The England midfielder was one of 11 Chelsea players at the World Cup over the summer, and only returned to pre-season duty last week, quickly taking in two games as we ended our pre-season preparations with narrow defeats in Frankfurt and Hamburg.
Now, with competitive football just two days away when we face Manchester United, Lampard admits there is still progress to be made on the training ground, but he aims to be fully operational by the time West Brom visit Stamford Bridge for the first day of the league season next Saturday.
'Obviously we're not going to be quite there yet, but that's what it is this pre-season. I think a lot of clubs are having the same problem, trying to get players who played in the World Cup fit as quick as possible,' said the 32-year-old.
'My main concern is to be fit for the first game of the season. We haven't had the best results but it's normal because a lot of big players for us have came back late, the important thing is what happens when the business starts on Sunday and next week.'
Lampard has found returning to Chelsea after England's disappointing World Cup a pleasure as he reflects on winning the Double last season, and is determined to repeat our success this time around.
'It's almost a breath of fresh air to come back to Chelsea, we won the Double last year and there's no negative mental effect from that at all. It's exciting to be back,' he smiled. 'The rest [after World Cup elimination] was about a month, and I was ready to be back by the time it came around.'
One player who has a full pre-season under his belt is Michael Essien, and from his performances it seems as though the Ghanaian is reaping the rewards.
'He's like a new signing, he has had two years where he has hardly played because he has had terrible injuries,' Lampard acknowledged. 'He's been a huge loss, you can never underestimate what a player like Michael Essien can do in your squad.
'He's one of the best players around in any position he plays in, I think we need that because we've lost a few players.'
Carlo Ancelotti's presence for a second year is also cause to smile, believes the man who now enters his 10th season as a Chelsea player.
'It's very nice, he obviously fitted in very quickly last year and the players respect it. Everyone understands he's a very good man and the way he works looks very decent from the outside, and he was obviously brilliant for us.
'It's nice to carry on building with that and we all hope we can reach the heights of last season again. It probably won't be - we probably won't score as many goals but if we can go and win the league, I don't really care how we win it. Every year the challenge gets harder,'[but] I'd like to defend the league first and foremost, that's my priority.'
The England midfielder was one of 11 Chelsea players at the World Cup over the summer, and only returned to pre-season duty last week, quickly taking in two games as we ended our pre-season preparations with narrow defeats in Frankfurt and Hamburg.
Now, with competitive football just two days away when we face Manchester United, Lampard admits there is still progress to be made on the training ground, but he aims to be fully operational by the time West Brom visit Stamford Bridge for the first day of the league season next Saturday.
'Obviously we're not going to be quite there yet, but that's what it is this pre-season. I think a lot of clubs are having the same problem, trying to get players who played in the World Cup fit as quick as possible,' said the 32-year-old.
'My main concern is to be fit for the first game of the season. We haven't had the best results but it's normal because a lot of big players for us have came back late, the important thing is what happens when the business starts on Sunday and next week.'
Lampard has found returning to Chelsea after England's disappointing World Cup a pleasure as he reflects on winning the Double last season, and is determined to repeat our success this time around.
'It's almost a breath of fresh air to come back to Chelsea, we won the Double last year and there's no negative mental effect from that at all. It's exciting to be back,' he smiled. 'The rest [after World Cup elimination] was about a month, and I was ready to be back by the time it came around.'
One player who has a full pre-season under his belt is Michael Essien, and from his performances it seems as though the Ghanaian is reaping the rewards.
'He's like a new signing, he has had two years where he has hardly played because he has had terrible injuries,' Lampard acknowledged. 'He's been a huge loss, you can never underestimate what a player like Michael Essien can do in your squad.
'He's one of the best players around in any position he plays in, I think we need that because we've lost a few players.'
Carlo Ancelotti's presence for a second year is also cause to smile, believes the man who now enters his 10th season as a Chelsea player.
'It's very nice, he obviously fitted in very quickly last year and the players respect it. Everyone understands he's a very good man and the way he works looks very decent from the outside, and he was obviously brilliant for us.
'It's nice to carry on building with that and we all hope we can reach the heights of last season again. It probably won't be - we probably won't score as many goals but if we can go and win the league, I don't really care how we win it. Every year the challenge gets harder,'[but] I'd like to defend the league first and foremost, that's my priority.'
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