Chelsea manager Frank Lampard says he is ‘happy’ with the Champions League draw but has warned his squad they cannot afford to be complacent.
The Premier League side will face Europa League winners Sevilla, Krasnodar and Rennes in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League.
Lampard concedes he was ‘happy’ with the outcome of the draw but has warned his players not to be complacent ahead of their first Champions League game against Sevilla on October 20.
‘I am happy with the draw in the fact that we analysed straightaway the teams we are playing against,’ Lampard told Chelsea’s official website. ‘We are very aware that every Champions League group is very tough.
‘So I know a lot of the reaction afterwards was what a great draw it is for Chelsea but we can’t approach it with that mindset at all.
‘They are very tough games, all the teams that we play, especially when you are travelling in Europe you always know you are going to get very competitive games.
‘Sevilla won the Europa League last year, and both of the other teams are emerging teams that will cause us a lot of threats and dangers, so let’s see.’
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Chelsea have won two of their first four Premier League games of the campaign and will face Southampton next week.
After last week’s 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace, Frank Lampard said: ‘There is a lot of reactionary stuff about us because of expectation.
‘I do think people have to remain calm – that’s how I have to be, I can’t get caught up in it. It’s my job not to be reactionary and not get too upset or down.
‘We got a lot of credit for coming fourth [last season] and we are not going to go from there to 100 instantly. We are a work in progress but I am up for that work and so are the players.’
