Steve Borthwick has returned to Leicester to recruit yet another member of his England staff with Tom Harrison to join as scrum coach ahead of the Rugby World Cup.
Harrison will join on June 1 to replace the Montpellier-bound Richard Cockerill and follows Richard Wigglesworth, Aled Walters, Kevin Sinfield and Borthwick himself in leaving Leicester for England.
The RFU announced in February that Wigglesworth and Walters would join at the end of the Gallagher Premiership season, and Harrison’s arrival was confirmed on Sunday as Borthwick finalised his coaching staff for the World Cup.
Wigglesworth will lead the attack coaching and kicking strategy while Sinfield will continue as defence coach. England men’s sevens head coach Tony Roques will work as contact and skills coach during training camps, while Walters will be the strength and conditioning coach.
Harrison is the Tigers’ assistant coach, leading on scrum coaching, and was part of the team that won the Premiership title in 2022.
“Tom is an excellent coach and will have a real impact in area that will be fundamental to us as a team,” Borthwick said.
“Leicester’s scrum is renowned across Europe and Tom has played a leading role in that success. I have full confidence in him and I am very happy that he will be joining England.”
Leicester chief executive Andrea Pinchon wished Harrison well in his new role while acknowledging the continuing challenge the Tigers have faced considering the number of staff that have left for England.
“Since coming into Leicester Tigers, Tom has been an exceptional contributor to the club on and off the field,” Pinchen said. “While obviously disappointed to be losing him at the end of the season, we wish him all the very best for this next chapter in his career.
“Tom is a great reflection of our club’s ability to produce coaches as well as players through the pathway programme at Leicester Tigers and while it has been another challenge for us this year, with coaches being poached by the national side, we continue to see it as a badge of honour for the level at which we are viewed within the game.”
Roques will again lend his expertise during the build-up to the summer, having previously worked with the England squad as part of the preparations for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Borthwick added: “As a group, we know each other well and we know the areas we will focus on to continue developing and building this team and be the best prepared team that we can be.
“We know this World Cup will be highly competitive, but we are genuinely excited by what this group of coaches and players can achieve in France.”
England are due to hold training camps in mid-June before taking part in a Summer Series in August with fixtures home and away against Wales, a trip to Dublin to face Ireland and a clash with Fiji at Twickenham.
The Pool D World Cup campaign then begins against Argentina in Marseille on September 9.
Wolves captain Ruben Neves admits only a catastrophe can send them down now.
Toti Gomes’ early header earned a 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday – a fourth straight home victory – and moved Julen Lopetegui’s men onto 40 points.
They are 13th, 10 points clear of the Premier League’s bottom three, and depending on other results could be mathematically safe by Monday night.
It comes after Wolves were bottom at Christmas and Neves knows their job is virtually done.
He told the club’s official site: “It’s not a secret for anyone, with 40 points we are pretty much there. A catastrophe needs to happen. It was really important for us and we can breathe a bit better now.
“It’s a big relief to come out of this fight and to enjoy the three games left in the league. We knew if we won this game, we’d be really close to our goal. It’s really hard to go down on 40 points.
“We had a bad start and changed coach, then the World Cup and we changed coach again.
“A lot of injuries, a lot of players out, but we wanted to achieve our main goal.”
Villa’s European hopes took a hit to keep them eighth and a point behind Brighton, having played three more games.
They host the Seagulls on the final day of the season and also face Tottenham and Liverpool, the other two sides immediately above them before the end of the campaign.
Successive 1-0 defeats could prove fatal in their quest to return to Europe for the first time since 2010-11 and midfielder John McGinn revealed his frustrations.
“We lost a goal from a set-piece, which is never nice, and you give yourselves a tougher task. We created a lot of chances to go and equalise and get more from the game,” he told the club’s official site.
“It’s definitely frustrating. There are a lot of things we could have done better, but overall, we controlled a lot of it.
“We’ve got to be a lot smarter in the final areas with our decision-making like we have been over the last few months.
“As much as when we were winning we weren’t getting carried away, it’s important we don’t let two defeats hamper what could be an exciting end to the season.
“We’ve made it extremely difficult for ourselves now but the challenge is still there for us. We’ll be aiming for three wins in the last three games.”
Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin insisted his side are still in a good position in their battle against the drop, despite his side’s 1-0 defeat to St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
Saints’ captain Liam Gordon steered home just before half-time after United were unable to clear their lines and the visitors saw Charlie Mulgrew sent off in the second half as they failed to find a leveller.
The defeat ended a run of three successive cinch Premiership victories and Goodwin urged perspective as he praised the attitude of his side.
He said: “If we’d gone down without a fight then I would be very disappointed, but the character is there in the group.
“We are in a decent position if you consider where we were prior to the Hibs game. If I was sitting here still five points adrift, I’d be very concerned. But we’re not.
“We are still level on points with Kilmarnock, albeit Ross County have closed that gap.
“It looks like it will be between the three of us at the bottom and we have great belief in the group.”
St Johnstone manager Steven MacLean, meanwhile, played down the five point gap his side have opened up ahead of the teams below them as he praised the collective effort of his team.
MacLean, who earned a point against Hibs in his first game in interim charge, saw the Saints win at home for the first time since beating Rangers 2-1 in early November.
He said: “It’s massive but it’s only a cushion. I don’t look at other teams. People pointed out last week that teams had won under us but I’m only interested in our club and what we do.
“I think you can see that we’re improving and we’re getting better and if win our games then we’ll be fine.
“We don’t just defend as a back four. We defend from the front and also Liam Gordon has scored the goal so it’s a collective. We don’t work as individuals – we’ve got to be good as a group. I’m delighted for everybody.”
St Johnstone have another home match against Motherwell next week and MacLean – who is relishing his role as interim boss – hopes they can use Saturday’s result to build some momentum and go on a run of wins.
He added: “There’s improvement in this team. I think everybody can see that we’re getting there. We’re working hard in training. You can see slight changes that we’re making and hopefully they’re enjoying it as much as I am but I think we can get better too.
“I want to keep winning. I’m not just about one or two games. I want to go on a run and I want to make this team better like I know they can be.
“I want to concentrate on Motherwell next week. I’ll watch their games and we’ll work in training for Motherwell and try to win the game.”
Ruben Selles has told his Southampton side they must beat relegation rivals Nottingham Forest on Monday.
Saints sit bottom of the Premier League table heading into the clash with Steve Cooper’s Forest who are also in the relegation zone.
And Selles wants his side to embrace the pressure of such a crucial game as they look to retain their top-flight status.
“I think we have been very realistic of our situation from the beginning and the players have also been realistic, they put their thought and honesty into us,” he said.
“It’s a must win, we know what sort of game it is. But again we talk always about habits and the habit for us is to play with that pressure on ourselves.
“Because in the last five games we talk about if we win one game then we’ll be back in the battle and we’re trying to do that with better performances and sometimes they are not that good and we need to do exactly the same in those terms.”
Victory in Monday’s clash would be a first for Southampton since March 4.
They trail 17th-placed Leeds by six points and face the prospect of playing in the Sky Bet Championship for the first time since 2012.
“We need to go into Monday night and know it’s an important game for us and go for it from the very beginning,” Selles added.
“This is the mentality and this is what I want the team to show every single game and that’s why we want to fight.
“This is the competitiveness of the Premier League we are still there. We didn’t have the best April but it is not only difficult for us, it is difficult for everybody.”
Team Jamaica will leave the island on Sunday (May 7) to defend their West Indies Full Bore Shooting Championship in Antigua & Barbuda between May 8-14 at the Crabb's Range.
The team to be led by Captain Phillip Scott will include the current national Full-Bore champion Nicola Guy, Jamaica’s first female national champion. Also on the team is two-time Amazon trophy winner and O Class champion Karen Anderson.
Major John Nelson, the president of the West Indies Full Bore Shooting Council and five-time Wogarth Cup winner, reigning Wogarth Cup winner, Captain Dwayne Ford, Canute CC Coley, Dennis Lee and Dr. Derek Mitchell complete the line-up.
George Hutton will serve as team manager.
Full Bore competition features competitors shooting from a prone position from distances of 300, 500, 600, 900 and 1,000 yards. Notably only Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica have 900-yard and 1,000-yard courses.
Shooters compete in three possible classes. X Class comprise the top 15-20 shooters in the Caribbean. T Class is any shooter participating in a regional shoot for the first time. Everyone else is in O Class.
Jamaica is considered to be a power house in Full Bore Shooting having won several championships and is always on the podium.
The Amazon trophy is awarded to the highest-scoring female while Wogarth Cup is awarded to the shooter who has the highest score in the team match.
James Tarkowski has no regrets over his decision to join Everton last summer despite the threat of suffering a second successive relegation.
Tarkowski was Frank Lampard’s first summer signing last June, joining on a free transfer from Burnley where his final campaign ended with the Clarets dropping into the Championship.
Things have not gone to plan at Goodison Park – Lampard was sacked in January and Everton remain in deep trouble going into Monday’s trip to high-flying Brighton – while Burnley have bounced straight back to the Premier League, but Tarkowski insisted he would not change his decision.
“My focus is completely on Everton and I don’t regret joining this club, for sure,” he said in the Liverpool Echo.
Asked what lessons he could bring from his time battling the drop with Burnley, he added: “Not panicking too much and becoming too obsessed with other teams and what their results are and just trying to focus on us.
“I have said it for the last few weeks really – if we do our job, we haven’t got to concern ourselves with what other teams are doing. I don’t think we should be looking at other teams hoping they will do us a favour, if it happens that way, fair enough. But we have to focus on ourselves more than anything.”
After Lampard’s exit, Tarkowski found himself reunited with former Burnley boss Sean Dyche, sacked by the Clarets last April but brought in as Lampard’s replacement in January.
The centre-back said: “At Burnley… he had a team with quite a small budget and were expected to go down at the start of every season. He kept them in the league and he has a history of doing that.”
Everton will go into their final four fixtures without captain Seamus Coleman, who was injured in last Monday’s 2-2 draw at Leicester.
The 34-year-old’s injury is not as bad as first feared but is likely to have ended his campaign prematurely, a major blow to the club at a difficult time.
Even as Coleman was being carried off the pitch at the King Power, the full-back was trying to rally his team-mates.
“That tells you everything about Seamus,” Tarkowski said. “When I first turned to see it I thought he was shouting at the lad who tackled him, it was only when I heard our fans start to cheer that I realised what he was actually doing.
“I haven’t seen that before but it just epitomises what Seamus is like and his love for this club.
“Seamus is such a good leader and a good captain, he is a great talker in the dressing room, so he will be a big miss in that aspect. That puts a bit more demand on the other lads to start talking and taking that ownership.”
Crystal Palace have promised to issue a club ban to a spectator that was alleged to have racially abused Tottenham forward Son Heung-min during Saturday’s match.
Footage has circulated on social media of a man in the away end at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium allegedly making a racist gesture towards Son.
The incident occurred in the 89th minute of Spurs’ 1-0 win when South Korea captain Son was replaced by substitute Arnaut Danjuma but had to walk around the outside of the pitch and past the Palace travelling support.
A Palace statement said: “We are aware of a video circulating online (as well as reports made directly to us) regarding an individual in the away end at Spurs yesterday, appearing to make racist gestures towards Heung-min Son.
“Evidence has been shared with the police, and when he is identified, he will face a club ban. We will not tolerate such behaviour in our club.”
A Tottenham statement read: “We are aware of an allegation of racial abuse towards Heung-min Son during yesterday’s match.
“Discrimination of any kind is abhorrent and has no place in society, our game and at our club.
“We are working with Met Police and Crystal Palace to investigate and identify the individual involved.
“We will do everything in our powers to ensure that if found guilty, the individual will receive the strongest possible action – as was the case earlier this season when Son suffered similar racial abuse at Chelsea.”
Tottenham supporters’ group Spurs REACH, which stands for Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage, wrote on Twitter: “Why oh, who, oh why, do adults in this day and age think that this is an acceptable way to behave towards another human being?
“We sincerely hope that Crystal Palace Football Club identify and ban this individual for life!”
Son was also racially abused during a match between Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge in August.
Chelsea banned a season-ticket holder indefinitely after footage emerged on social media of a fan in the home end making a racist gesture towards Son in the 2-2 draw.
The Crown Prosecution Service in March issued the Chelsea supporter with an order banning him from attending live football matches for three years.
Crystal Palace have promised to issue a club ban to a spectator that was alleged to have racially abused Tottenham forward Son Heung-min during Saturday’s match.
Footage has circulated on social media of a man in the away end at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium allegedly making a racist gesture towards Son.
The incident occurred in the 89th minute of Spurs’ 1-0 win when South Korea captain Son was replaced by substitute Arnaut Danjuma but had to walk around the outside of the pitch and past the Palace travelling support.
A Palace statement said: “We are aware of a video circulating online (as well as reports made directly to us) regarding an individual in the away end at Spurs yesterday, appearing to make racist gestures towards Heung-min Son.
“Evidence has been shared with the police, and when he is identified, he will face a club ban. We will not tolerate such behaviour in our club.”
A Tottenham statement read: “We are aware of an allegation of racial abuse towards Heung-min Son during yesterday’s match.
“Discrimination of any kind is abhorrent and has no place in society, our game and at our club.
“We are working with Met Police and Crystal Palace to investigate and identify the individual involved.
“We will do everything in our powers to ensure that if found guilty, the individual will receive the strongest possible action – as was the case earlier this season when Son suffered similar racial abuse at Chelsea.”
Tottenham supporters’ group Spurs REACH, which stands for Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage, wrote on Twitter: “Why oh, who, oh why, do adults in this day and age think that this is an acceptable way to behave towards another human being?
“We sincerely hope that Crystal Palace Football Club identify and ban this individual for life!”
Son was also racially abused during a match between Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge in August.
Chelsea banned a season-ticket holder indefinitely after footage emerged on social media of a fan in the home end making a racist gesture towards Son in the 2-2 draw.
The Crown Prosecution Service in March issued the Chelsea supporter with an order banning him from attending live football matches for three years.
Tottenham have launched an investigation after it was alleged Son Heung-min was racially abused by a spectator during Saturday’s match with Crystal Palace.
Footage has circulated on social media of a man in the away end at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium allegedly making a racist gesture towards Son.
The alleged incident occurred in the 89th minute of Spurs’ 1-0 win when South Korea captain Son was replaced by substitute Arnaut Danjuma but had to walk around the outside of the pitch and past the Palace travelling support.
“We are aware of an allegation of racial abuse towards Heung-Min Son during yesterday’s match,” a Tottenham statement read.
“Discrimination of any kind is abhorrent and has no place in society, our game and at our club.
“We are working with Met Police and Crystal Palace to investigate and identify the individual involved.
“We will do everything in our powers to ensure that if found guilty, the individual will receive the strongest possible action – as was the case earlier this season when Son suffered similar racial abuse at Chelsea.”
The PA news agency has contacted Crystal Palace for comment.
Tottenham supporters’ group Spurs REACH, which stands for Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage, wrote on Twitter: “Why oh, who, oh why, do adults in this day and age think that this is an acceptable way to behave towards another human being?
“We sincerely hope that Crystal Palace Football Club identify and ban this individual for life!”
Son was also racially abused during a match between Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge in August.
Chelsea banned a season-ticket holder indefinitely after footage emerged on social media of a fan in the home end making a racist gesture towards the Spurs attacker in the 2-2 draw.
The Crown Prosecution Service in March issued the Chelsea supporter with an order banning him from attending live football matches for three years.
Anthony Davis bounced back with a stellar performance and got ample help from D'Angelo Russell and LeBron James in the Los Angeles Lakers' 127-97 win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
Davis had 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Lakers took a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
The Lakers' big man was limited to 11 points and seven boards in a Game 2 loss but was relentless at both ends in this one, also adding four blocks and three steals.
Russell scored all 21 of his points in the first half as the Lakers took a 59-48 advantage into the locker room.
James did not attempt a shot in the first quarter for the first time in his playoff carer but led several runs in the second and third quarters on his way to 21 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
Los Angeles had a huge advantage at the free throw line, making 28 of 37 to just 12 of 17 for Golden State.
The Warriors ended the opening quarter with a 30-23 lead, but the Lakers won the second and third quarters by a combined margin of 63-38. Lakers coach Darvin Ham rested his starters for most of the fourth quarter.
Stephen Curry had 23 points and Andrew Wiggins added 16 for the Warriors, who committed 18 turnovers and made only 13 of 44 from long range.
Golden State got very little from anyone other than Curry, Wiggins or Klay Thompson (15 points), with starters Draymond Green and JaMychal Green combining for just four points on 2-of-9 shooting.
Heat get Butler back, dominate Knicks
Jimmy Butler scored 28 points and was the driving force in his return from a sprained ankle and the Miami Heat rolled to a 105-86 rout of the New York Knicks in Game 3.
Max Strus added 19 points and Bam Adebayo had 17 with 12 rebounds to give Miami a 2-1 lead in the second-round series.
After missing Miami's Game 2 loss due to the ankle, Butler was seen limping at times in the second half Saturday, but the Heat started fast and never trailed against the cold-shooting Knicks.
Butler scored 10 points in the first quarter and the Heat made 10 of their first 15 shots in racing to a 58-44 halftime lead. New York, meanwhile, misfired on 13 of its first 17 shots and shot just 34.1 percent for the game, including a dismal 8-for-40 from 3-point range.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 20 points and Josh Hart had 14. Julius Randle was mostly ineffective with 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting and RJ Barrett was not much better with 14 points on 5 of 16.
Ryan Mason paid tribute to the collective after Tottenham claimed a first clean sheet in the Premier League since February.
Harry Kane’s first-half header, his 28th goal of the season, earned Spurs a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday that kept them in the hunt for a top-six finish.
Kane moved ahead of Wayne Rooney into second on the all-time Premier League goal-scorer list with his 209th top-flight strike but it was the other end of the pitch where Tottenham’s improvement was noticeable.
After conceding six at Newcastle and four at Liverpool during the last two weekends, Mason used his full week on the training pitch to tweak the 3-4-3 system used for the best part of 18 months since Antonio Conte took over.
Spurs went with a back four out of possession and it worked to good effect after Palace were limited to minimal chances with the hosts able to register a first league clean sheet since February 26 versus Chelsea.
“When you keep a clean sheet, it’s a collective. It’s everyone and everyone fought for the clean sheet,” Mason said.
“The players on the pitch but also the ones who didn’t because in the training week we’ve all worked hard together and they’re the results you want.
“We understand the importance of the win and the clean sheet as well is a great response from the players because maybe mentally when you concede so many goals in a short space of time, it can have an impact but the players have worked hard.
“The whole squad has worked hard on the training pitch. We’ve had a bit of time together to try and influence things and they responded. I thought it was a cagey game but overall we deserved the three points.”
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Spurs have spent the whole of this season using a 3-4-3 system but Cristian Stellini, who stepped up from assistant to replace Conte, went with a back four at Newcastle last month.
It ended up having disastrous consequences with Tottenham 5-0 down inside 21 minutes and Stellini ultimately losing his job as acting head coach as a result.
Mason hinted upon taking charge it would be hard for him to make changes for the Manchester United and Liverpool fixtures, but after a week on the training ground reverted to a back four, which he used in his previous caretaker spell in 2021.
He added: “We added a sixth man into the press and tried to be a bit more aggressive.
“I have to compliment the players because when you’ve been working in a certain way for so long, to make that change at this stage of the season it’s very positive for me.”
Roy Hodgson, who watched Crystal Palace lose for only a second time since his return, acknowledged the respect Spurs had given the visitors with their formation.
“I saw us on the ball for large periods of the game and I saw us attempting to get into the right areas,” he said.
“We didn’t have the success we had last week (against West Ham) or the weeks before, but that’s a credit to Tottenham deciding to defend as they did against us.
“It’s never easy to find that bit of space when there are a lot of players in and around the box.”
Ilkay Gundogan accepted his share of the blame after Premier League leaders Manchester City failed to beat relegation-threatened Leeds by a convincing scoreline on Saturday.
The German midfielder scored both of City’s goals as they maintained their title charge with a 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium but his late missed penalty opened the door for a potential Leeds fightback.
Regular penalty-taker and top scorer Erling Haaland passed up the chance to score from the spot to allow club captain Gundogan a shot at a first career hat-trick, but things almost went badly wrong.
Gundogan’s effort in the 84th minute smacked the post and Leeds scored just moments later through Rodrigo.
Suddenly, a game City had completely dominated until that point ended in a frantic finish but the hosts held on.
Manager Pep Guardiola was far from impressed by the episode and Gundogan held his hands up.
“It was a good performance,” said Gundogan. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to transmit that performance into the result.
“It feels like this game should have been won by at least three goals’ difference.
“We had a lot of possession, we were able to create a lot of chances. The negative is that we were not able to score a third one.
“The game could have been over in the first half and, of course, also in the second. We had plenty of chances – myself included, unfortunately – to score a third one.
“Conceding quite an easy goal made the last five to 10 minutes a little bit nervous for us, which should not have happened. It’s another experience that we take on board.”
That incident aside, Gundogan was outstanding, putting his side in command by sweeping home from Riyad Mahrez passes on the edge of the area in the 19th and 27th minutes.
City could have increased their lead several times over with Haaland going close on a number of occasions, including hitting the woodwork twice himself.
Gundogan feels it is important City, who now face Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday, continue to set high standards as they chase the treble.
He said: “Some people say it’s more important to win than play well, which might be true, but I think that’s just not our standard.
“Of course we want to win games but also we want to keep playing the way we have done here.
“There’s just a few games left until the season is over and every game is like a final right now.”
Until their late flurry, Leeds offered little in Sam Allardyce’s first match in charge and they remain in deep trouble at the bottom of the table.
Allardyce has just three games – tough fixtures against Newcastle, West Ham and Tottenham – to steer them to safety.
It looks a daunting task but the 68-year-old is determined to get the best out of his players.
He said: “Even though my position is head coach I am a manager, and my biggest strength is making people feel better, making people do better.
“Since Monday with (assistants) Karl Robinson and Robbie Keane and the staff already here, we’re working diligently to make the team better.
“We haven’t stopped talking for the last four days, and not just daytime. We’ve been together all night, every night, plotting, talking and trying to find the right formula.”
Livingston manager David Martindale says some members of his squad should not be surprised if they are dropped for the trip to Kilmarnock following their performances in a 2-0 defeat by Ross County.
The Lions started as the better of the two teams in Dingwall but could not find a breakthrough to make the most of their momentum.
Either side of half-time County did find the net through Alex Iacovitti and Alex Samuel – and in the end it was a comfortable victory for the Staggies.
That comfort level left Martindale unimpressed, and he thought some of his players looked as though they had nothing left to play for this season.
“I don’t think up until the first goal the boys were off it, but giving the cheap goal away saw Ross County grow in confidence,” he said.
“There was more desire and intensity from Ross County than us after the goal, so we need to find our feet very quickly.
“We will be playing against other teams who are fighting against relegation, and we have to match that desire that those players will have. It’s my job to make sure the players find that.
“We have four games left now, and if most of the guys got dropped next week I don’t think they could have much to say about it.
“Our squad depth is a challenge at this point, but it’s up to me and my staff to find a solution and we’re more than capable of doing that.”
Martindale’s opposite number Malky Mackay, on the other hand, was delighted with Ross County’s display.
Coming off the back of a two-week wait for redemption after a 6-1 drubbing bby Hearts, Mackay was heartened by his players closing the gap at the bottom of the cinch Premiership table to a single point.
“We only haven’t been at it twice this season, and Hearts was one of them,” he said.
“In most games it has been close, we have been in and around it. Every team we have played, we have made it tough whether we win or lose – so I was really disappointed with that performance.
“It was really important that in the first of the two-week break, we got them back in and put a shoulder around them. They were battered and bruised, in terms of their reputation and they were disappointed.
“Against Livingston, we again made it difficult for a team. I’ve got a group here that will fight to the last to make sure we stay in this division.”
Frank Lampard believes Chelsea need to become “killers” in attack in order to build on an overdue victory and begin bridging the sizeable gap to the Premier League’s leading clubs.
The mid-table Blues on Saturday ended a nine-match winless run, including six successive defeats since Lampard was reappointed, by beating Bournemouth 3-1.
Conor Gallagher headed the visitors in front at Vitality Stadium but, after Matias Vina’s leveller, they were largely toothless going forward until late finishes from Benoit Badiashile and Joao Felix halted the prolonged slump.
While a top-half finish is the extent of Chelsea’s potential this season, they will hope to be challenging for Champions League qualification at the very least next term.
Interim manager Lampard, who is due to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer, feels the Blues must develop a ruthless streak in order to do that and suggested the club may need further recruits, despite having already spent more than £600million on transfers since Todd Boehly’s takeover.
“We controlled a lot of the game,” he said of the south-coast success.
“Without the killer instinct, we were running inside their box a lot in the first half, we had a lot of overloads on the side of the pitch.
“And as this team develops or as we add to the squad I think you have to be more killers at the top end of the pitch.
“If you look at the top half of the table, that’s what you will see all across it. At the moment, we haven’t got that. But you saw nice individual performances in a positive direction.”
Two-time European champions Chelsea sit in 11th position, a staggering 40 points behind leaders Manchester City and well adrift of the top four.
Travelling supporters celebrated the long-awaited triumph with self-deprecating cries of ‘we are staying up’, having earlier directed derogatory chants at American businessman Boehly.
Lampard backed the club’s owners to eventually be successful following a dismal first campaign at the helm.
“The fans have been used to a lot of success, they want a lot of success,” said the former Blues midfielder.
“What I do know is the fans will stick with this club. I do know there are a lot of intentions to take this club where we want to get it to again.
“There’s not one club out there of our size that hasn’t had transitional periods.
“People would give a left arm to have the success we’ve had for 20 years, so if it’s our year where we have to go again and work a bit and try and come back stronger next year, everyone stick together, then I’m sure we will.”
The west London club move on to meetings with relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest, reigning champions City, and Champions League hopefuls Manchester United and Newcastle.
Lampard is concerned left-back Ben Chilwell will be unavailable for the run-in after he limped off against the Cherries.
“It’s a hamstring injury,” he said.
“We don’t know if it’s serious but with a hamstring injury at this stage of the season it’s clearly a worry for the last few games.”
Bournemouth began the weekend level on 39 points with Chelsea and had the better chances for a winner before suffering late disappointment, with Badiashile’s pivotal strike coming from Hakim Ziyech’s free-kick into the penalty area.
The Cherries have the worst record in the division for conceding goals from set-pieces, an issue head coach Gary O’Neil is eager to address.
“We’ve struggled with defending balls into the box,” he said. “We’re obviously aware of it and it’s something we need to improve.
“I’m hopeful we can put some work in now week to week but then we can put things in place for next season to make us much stronger in that area.”
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