Bringing back Lampard and Morris ´perfect decision´ to boost Chelsea youth, says Poyet

Bringing Frank Lampard and Jody Morris back to Chelsea was the “perfect decision” to boost the club’s youth development, according to Gustavo Poyet.

The return of Chelsea’s former midfielders as manager and assistant, coupled with the club’s transfer ban at the start of the 2019-20 season, changed the prospects of youngsters at the academy.

Chelsea had loaned out many youngsters and splashed the cash on high-profile signings, but Poyet, who won the FA Cup during four years at Stamford Bridge, sees a different picture now.

“You can get one player every year getting through into the first team [from the academy] but there was always someone coming from somewhere else,” Poyet told Stats Perform.

“A player needed to perform tomorrow. There is a different way of working and I’m convinced there is no right or wrong. Every club, with different people in charge, has a different way of working. 

“At Chelsea, for many years, it was, ‘We want players to jump on the pitch and that day they will perform’ – because of the transfer ban, it was something that needed to be changed.

“This generation of young players have the chance for the first time in many, many, many, many years to take the opportunity of playing for the first team at a young age.

“The main thing was the big, strong and perfect decision of the club to bring Frank Lampard back and have the support of the fans.

“And his assistant, many people don’t talk about, Jody Morris, who has been the coach of these kids before he went to Derby County with Frank Lampard. 

“That connection of knowing the coach and having the fear as a Chelsea player of having someone like Frank Lampard in front of you, and having the chance to prove that the kids are good enough to play for Chelsea, I think was perfect.” 

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Poyet believes the days when a Champions League place should be taken for granted are in the past, with Chelsea sitting fourth in the Premier League prior to the halt in action because of the coronavirus crisis.

He added: “They were trying to finish the season in a good way and finish in the Champions League [places], which would be a great achievement. 

“People take it for granted, because of your name. But like I said before, we depend on the players.

“We’ve got young players and normally to win trophies with young players is very, very difficult, not impossible, but more difficult than with players who are of a certain age. 

“So, having the chance to be in European competition next year would be a massive achievement for Chelsea. 

“These kids are going to be able to go to another level because the more you play against big, big opposition, the b
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etter you become. You’re out if you’re not good enough and you improve very quickly.”