Frank Lampard admitted he is still striving to find the perfect centre-back partnership at Chelsea.
The Blues boss has used a combination of Antonio Rudiger, Fikayo Tomori, Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma throughout the season.
At times during the campaign, Lampard has also shifted to three at the back in certain matches, with Cesar Azpilicueta also moving into the centre.
The Blues have really struggled defensively over Lampard’s debut season in charge, having conceded 49 goals in the Premier League, the most out of the top ten.
Lampard has often focused his attention when games have been lost on the last of clinical nature in front of goal, something that he has addressed again.
However, the Blues boss can’t deny that he is still having to mix and match to get the right combination.
“It’s not cut and dried,” Lampard said. “You want to get settled relationships, but if we are making individual errors, some can be collective, but individual errors or multiple errors into goals which we’ve seen recently against West Ham and Sheffield United, then you have to take that into account.
“At the same time, I don’t want players think they will be out of the team if they make one mistake so there is a balance to that.
“But clearly we haven’t found that partnership in that area that I’ve settled on and that’s something we’re striving for.
“When I look at this season and analyse it, I think we have scored a lot of goals but we should have scored more - another 10 or 15 goals would be how I would feel in being clinical in front of goal because we create a lot.
“In terms of defensively, there is a way that I want us to play and it’s not gung-ho, it’s not crazy, a lot of the goals are the balls that come into our box that maybe we don’t defend right at that moment and that’s something that has to improve and I feel I know the answers to it.
“Some of it is work and that’s something we will see and it’s part of the process we are in. I don’t like it, I hate conceding goals but we have to work harder on it.”
“I don’t think any team in modern football are going to say ‘we’ve got that partnership’.
“You go back and talk about a John Terry-Riccy Carvlaho partnership, but in the modern day, I don’t think you will find too many clubs to name the two.
“It’s a difficult season and a demanding season, so I’m not saying I just want to pick two centre-backs because you need competition of probably four centre-backs within a squad and then you need them knocking on the door.
“You want to be able to say to players ‘you are not doing enough’ or the two that are playing keep deserving to play. I don’t think it’s about just a partnership.
“Can we be more settled if we improve? Yes, for sure. Will it be just two players who are going to be your centre backs? I don’t think that’s going to be the case.”
