Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard has said that Tottenham’s fixture schedule is no more demanding than any other club’s despite Jose Mourinho’s complaints about the Carabao Cup game against the blues.
Spurs were handed a demanding run of matches to start the campaign, featuring four league games, three Europa League qualifiers and two cup matches – though their clash with Leyton Orient was suspended after a number of the League Two club’s players tested positive for Covid-19.
Tottenham were handed a bye as a result, and will now play Frank Lampard’s side after Chelsea saw off Barnsley, but Mourinho still had to travel to Macedonia last week to take on Shkendija.
Two days later they faced Newcastle, with a similar gap between tomorrow’s match with Chelsea, then on Thursday they play Maccabi Haifa before they travel to Old Trafford on Sunday.
Mourinho was furious with the scheduling, saying it puts his players at risk, and wants to name a rotated team for the Carabao Cup, though Lampard has little sympathy for the Portuguese manager and says every team is dealing with their own problems.
Asked about Mourinho’s comments, Lampard said: ‘Yeah, I mean, I know that, and I know Jose it’s a busy time for Tottenham because of the Europa League. ‘It’s a busy time for us all. They had a free mid-week last week, we didn’t.
‘I know they have a busy week this week. But when I analyse Tottenham and know the squad they have, and analyse what might be a team that maybe didn’t play 90 minutes pretty much yesterday.
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‘They have a fantastic squad, so I feel any squad Jose will put out will be very strong. ‘The Carabao Cup does have its place and we certainly respect it and every tournament we go in we’ll try and win.’
While explaining his decision to prioritise the Maccabi Haifa clash over Chelsea, Mourinho said: ‘I would like to fight for the Carabao Cup but I don’t think I can.
‘We have a game on Thursday that gives us not as much money as the Champions League, but the group phase of the Europa League gives us a certain amount that for a club like us is very important.
‘It’s a competition with a possible group phase that gives us a good chance to go through to the next knockout stage, so this game on Thursday is very important for us.’
