TAMMY ABRAHAM has revealed that Chelsea stars were “upset” with Frank Lampard’s running drills in pre-season.
But the striker believes all that hard work is paying off after a fine few weeks for the club.
Chelsea have won their last four matches in all competitions and sit fifth in the Premier League table.
However, Lampard’s men started the season poorly with a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United.
And they could only manage two wins in the next seven games before their fortunes turned around with a 7-1 thrashing of Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup.
Their most recent victory was an impressive 4-1 triumph away at Southampton.
And many have pointed to Chelsea’s painstaking pressing and running as a key factor in their success.
The Blues no longer look slow and laboured, with Lampard’s predecessor Maurizio Sarri criticised for a lack of intensity.
Chelsea are instead playing with a new-found speed and energy, allowing the likes of Mason Mount and Abraham to thrive.
The pair have been included in Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad for Euro qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, along with fellow academy product Fikayo Tomori.
And Abraham concedes that although Lampard’s pre-season running drills were a pain, everybody’s hard work is finally shining through.
The fans' favourite, who is 2019’s current top scorer in English football with 20 goals, told the Athletic: “I think a lot of players were a bit upset about how much running we had to do in pre-season, but it’s all paying off now.
“It all makes sense why we did it, why we had such a hard pre-season.
“From when the manager came in he told us the style of play, how he wanted us to play, how to press.
“At first, I couldn’t do it. I had no energy. But as the season has gone on, I’ve got used to it.
“Now we know what he wants in the press, so for us, it’s about giving defenders no time on the ball – just rushing them.”
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