Lampard targets third World Cup

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has set his sights on representing England at a third FIFA World Cup.

Lampard saw his contract extended at Chelsea after a stellar 2012-13 campaign, in which he scored 17 goals in 50 matches in all competitions.

The 34-year-old has won 97 caps for England and has targeted a place in Roy Hodgson’s squad in Brazil – if they qualify – which could be the final involvement of his glittering playing career.

“It is a big year,” Lampard told Chelsea’s official website.

“I would love to stay involved with England until the World Cup. I need to be playing regularly and well to do that, and we have a big squad.

“Now I’ve signed the extra year though it’s up to me to come back in pre-season and onwards and show I can do that.

“Then we’ll see what happens with England but if I am playing well I like to think I will have a chance.’

Lampard also revealed that he is looking forward to getting pre-season started new club manager Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese boss, who was in charge at Chelsea from 2004 to 2007, completed his return to the club earlier this month, signing a four-year deal after leaving Spanish giants Real Madrid.

And Lampard is excited to work with him again.

“He’s a great manager, I’ve said it a million times to the point of boring people, but I’m very fortunate to have worked under him before,” Lampard said.

“He took my game on a million miles. A lot of the reasons I moved on in the game are because of him.

“He creates a spirit in his squads that you can see from the outside is very, very strong. He’s a top class manager, we all know that.”

Chelsea will play matches in Bangkok (July 17), Kuala Lumpur (July 21) and Jakarta (July 25) as part of their pre-season campaign.