Frank Lampard and the players received plenty of praise following the 2-0 win in north London on Sunday, and Zouma was part of a defence that switched to three at the back and kept our first away clean sheet in the Premier League this season.‘We hadn’t been playing three at the back for a long time now, maybe one or two months, and coming back to that and playing like that, for sure the manager deserves the credit because he did it well and everybody respected the plan,’ says the big defender.‘We can change formations depending on the opponent and depending on the players that we have. We have all different kinds of players and playing four at the back or three at the back, for us both of them are good formations. We have very talented players who can play in different positions no problem.’

The immediate challenge is at Stamford Bridge this afternoon where we take on Southampton in a traditional Boxing Day fixture but playing today is nothing special for Zouma, who is focused on overcoming a side which has won three of its past five games.‘Boxing Day is not special because every three days we have a game,’ he explains, ‘and we know that after Christmas people will be celebrating a little bit maybe with their families but it is an important game for us. Especially at home we want to win this one and especially we want to confirm the victory we had at Tottenham, so we want to keep going and get another streak of wins.‘We have to play the same as we did against Tottenham. It does not matter who the opponent is. Just fight for every ball, be as a team, be compact and defend well, and try to score the chances we get. That is it.‘There will be some tired legs, but with the spirit we have in this group and with the squad we have, I think we can win all the games that are coming. We just need to be focused and fight for every game.‘The manager just wants us to show personality on the pitch, with the ball and without the ball as well. He just wants us to talk together a lot and also when we get the ball just play and that means taking risks at times. Not crazy risks but being in position and try to do a bit more sometimes to help the team and to get the win.’

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