Lampard declares Chelsea ‘all good’ ahead of ‘tough’ West London Derby against Fulham

At nearly the halfway point of the season, with 17 of 38 played, Lampard's Chelsea sit barely halfway up the Premier League table, just 9th among the 20 teams in the division. With just one win in our last five, Chelsea are in desperate need of a win to start climbing back up the table.

No better time for that than this weekend, with a West London Derby on tap against Fulham and a fully fit Chelsea squad available. N’Golo Kante is the only absentee as he will serve his one-game suspension after accumulating five yellow cards.

"We're all good. N'Golo Kante is suspended but he's back in training tomorrow. So we're all good."

Chelsea are expected to fair much better than ninth, to say the least, especially after a summer of heavy investment. Of course, integrating so many new players takes time, though Lampard is well aware that time isn't in abundance, especially at Chelsea.

But he is confident that the team can string together a good run of form after spending the better part of the last two weeks working on specific areas of improvement.

"My concern has been training and the atmosphere around that because when you haven’t won for a few games it’s clear the players need to stay positive. That starts from the staff. I have seen good reactions from the players. They have worked hard.

"We have had two pretty long weeks of training for pretty much the first time this season. We have had a chance to work in training on bigger elements of our game. We have worked at a really physical level which is important if you want to improve as a team.

"No matter what squad you have, and particularly if you have young or new players, you need time to work. Last season we had that, and even with a young and imbalanced squad we had a long pre-season and moments in the season where we could work. Those two weeks have given us a chance to refocus on the basics of our game, what we are and how we want to play. I just want to see those things come through."

-Frank Lampard; source: Chelsea FC

Fulham might be in the relegation zone, sitting just 18th, but their recent upturn has seen them battle to five consecutive draws, including against Liverpool and Tottenham. That should ensure Chelsea do not take this fixture lightly.

"It's a different relationship to some derbies but whenever they came they had the feeling of wanting to beat us. Without fans, it takes a slight edge off but mentally we should retain that passion of what this game means.

"Fulham played very well last night against Tottenham. That's been their recent form so I think any previous history before that goes away. They have threats across their team. They've drawn with Liverpool and Tottenham. It will be a tough game but we have to focus on ourselves."

-Frank Lampard; source: Football.London

Let's kick off the string of wins with all three points against Fulham!