At his press conference this afternoon Frank Lampard was asked about his team’s defending since he took over, and in response our boss brought to light a less well-publicised stat, as well as reiterating what his team must do to let in fewer goals.
The three Southampton scored on Saturday made it 63 conceded in 43 Premier League games since the start of last season, at an average of a little under 1.5 per match.
Lampard acknowledged that is not good enough for a team wishing to challenge towards the top end of the table, but he also pointed out that some of our defensive numbers are more impressive, and perhaps more enlightening.
‘I'm aware of that stat,’ started Lampard, ‘and the other stat I’m aware of since I have been here is that we have conceded the second-fewest shots in the Premier League, behind Manchester City.
‘It helps to sometimes narrow down some of the issues. The issues are we don’t concede many shots on our goal, but when we do we concede goals.
‘It's something we're aware of when we look at recruitment, and more importantly you’re aware when you work every day on the pitch with the players to make sure we are set up well.
‘We want to concede less, as do all teams at the moment. There are teams in the Premier League that are conceding a lot of goals at the moment, we are all in a similar position to a degree. It will always be something we work on, as much as we do our attacking play.
‘There is nothing given to you in the Premier League or the Champions League,’ added Lampard.
‘All we have to do is carry on working. We have players fit which has been an issue for us. We have to get relationships around the pitch and stay calm.’