Lampard urges Abramovich to keep in old guard

Lampard, who like Drogba and fit-again captain John Terry, was outstanding against Napoli, said the club was not capable of winning the competition without them. He said: “You can’t win these sort of competitions without that,” he said.

“You’re not talking about old boys whose careers are flitting out.

"They’re players that want to play, players that want to win.”

Lampard, who is 33 and has one further year left on his contract, added: “The amount of nights that Didi’s stood up, the amount of nights that John’s stood up, is what Chelsea are all about.

"If that can get us a result like that then we go with it. You need old and experienced boys in the team as well as the young ones coming through with their enthusiasm.

"We need to be on top form and we need to be playing well but you can see the desire in the players.”