Chelsea's breakthrough star Billy Gilmour has revealed why he was "fuming" after making his Premier League debut, and the wise advice offered to him by manager Frank Lampard.
The midfielder entered the fray with just six minutes remaining in an August 2019 clash against newly-promoted Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea holding a slim 2-1 lead after a first-half double from Tammy Abraham.
However, the Blues were eventually forced to settle for a point after Kurt Zouma turned the ball into his own net, with Lampard subsequently receiving a barrage of questions regarding the timing of Gilmour's introduction.
Lampard defended his decision, insisting he had faith in the 18-year-old.
Gilmour said he was left in a "bad mood" by the result, with the coach reaching out afterwards to provide some words of encouragement.
"When the game finished I remember walking back to the changing room and I was raging," Gilmour told Chelsea's official website. "I was gutted at myself just because of the score.
"The gaffer texted me later saying, 'these are the moments I want you to remember.
"When you’re training hard, that’s what you need to bring into the games when people aren’t playing well. You need to take the good and the bad together'.
"It was a tough game. Sheffield United worked really hard. I was obviously happy that I’d made my debut but mostly gutted.
"My family came down to watch and they kept telling me to cheer up. They wanted to take pictures afterwards but I wasn’t really smiling because I was in a bad mood!"
Gilmour went on to produce successive man-of-the-match performances against Liverpool and Everton in March and is now earmarked as one of the top-flight's most exciting prospects.
