These stories are samples pulled from external media sources. They do not represent the views or position of Chelsea Football Club.

Sinclair approves of Lampard’s passion

Former England midfielder Trevor Sinclair has told TalkSport that the attitude which Frank Lampard displays as Chelsea’s head coach will rub off well on his players.

The 42-year-old was involved in a touchline exchange with Jose Mourinho during the Carabao Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday but Sinclair said he was full of admiration for his former West Ham United team-mate.

‘I like the fact Frank stands up for himself. I think he’s his own man,’ he said.

‘He’s got to be looked upon by his players that he cares. I think that’s the reaction, from a players’ point of view, I want to see my manager arguing with an opposition manager if he’s giving it loads.

‘I want to see him sticking up for us like he cares for it. I think Frank’s done that. He’s not going for little managers because we have seen it with [Jurgen] Klopp. He doesn’t care.

‘Frank’s done everything in the game as a player. If he wants to emulate someone like (Carlo) Ancelotti, he has to stand his ground in the technical box and I think he’s doing that superbly well.’

Sinclair added that Lampard’s battling spirit has been apparent since he first came through as a player at West Ham.

‘He’s had adversity surrounding him from when he’s a young player. I remember him in the West Ham team when he was making his breakthrough season. I have to be honest, he was on fire,’ he added.

‘In training we could see it. The way he played his games and he was scoring goals for fun.

‘The West Ham fans were still abusing him because they thought he’d been given a leg up because of his old man and because of Harry (Redknapp) being his uncle and it couldn’t be further from the truth. He worked his socks off.’

Werner makes call for togetherness

Timo Werner has issued a rallying call on Instagram to his Chelsea team-mates and supporters after our Carabao Cup exit to Tottenham Hotspur which has gone viral.

While the German scored his first goal for the club during the match, it proved a bittersweet night in north London as we bowed out of the competition after being beaten in a penalty shoot-out.

However, Werner showed his spirit for his new club by sharing an image of himself standing with his team-mates in a line in the centre-circle during the shoot-out which was accompanied by a positive message.

‘We win and lose together,’ he wrote. ‘We will try to make it better on Saturday!’

The German’s message clearly struck a chord with his followers as it received more than 250,000 likes within 24 hours.

Barkley excited to play alongside Grealish

After completing his loan move to Aston Villa on Wednesday, Ross Barkley told the club’s official website of the role which Jack Grealish played in encouraging him to join the Birmingham club.

‘We’re mates off the field and we know each other well,’ said the 26-year-old. ‘We’ve spoken previously and I’m looking forward to playing with him.

‘I’ve spoken to him over the past couple of weeks and he’s been telling me about how good the club is and how welcomed I’d be when I came here.’

Barkley added that his decision to join the Villans for the season was motivated by his desire to play for England at the rescheduled European Championship next summer.

‘The last couple of years I’ve been stop-start, performing well and then being out of the team,’ he added.

‘To come here and have the chance to play and perform regularly is a big thing for me. With the Euros at the end of the season, it’s a big target for me and hopefully I can be there.’