PICTURES: Chelsea back on the training ground after Bohemians friendly

Frank Lampard may not have made his mantra of work, work, work as obvious as Antonio Conte once did, at least not at first, but the theme of intense work and effort, for at least one player harder than anything he’s ever experienced in his career, is slowly emerging through various player interviews.

Lampard wants to hit the ground running from the word go when the season begins in a month, and there’s no time to waste, especially as preseason gets a lot more hectic starting next week, as trips to Japan and various European destinations await.

So, unsurprisingly, the boys were back to double-session training on Thursday, now with reduced numbers to 27 to make things a bit more manageable and reasonable. A couple more will leave after the next game, too, on Saturday, as we await the arrivals of the so far missing and hopefully the still injured as well.

But there’s always time to squeeze in a bit of fun, too.