PRESS CONFERENCE | Frank Lampard and Bobby Thomas look ahead to West Bromwich Albion. 🎙️

Hi Frank, just a word on Frank Onyekel, he's standing ovation when he came off on Monday. You must have been pleased, I know it's a bit post-match about him, but I guess you've had a chance to watch back his performance in detail. How pleased were you with his debut? Yeah, it was an outstanding performance for a debut. Frank's played at a higher level than this, he's played in a Premier League, he's played for his national team many times. But to come into a Championship game with such a level and a physicality and speed of the game and play the way he played was outstanding. It was his first game for us, so I was delighted with him, the profile of him. I spoke about being different in midfield, we've got different players that complement each other in the middle of the park. Frank brings his own qualities to that and it's great for us to have that type of player in midfield for him to perform how he did. Because there's a number of options you can have in midfield, the relationship with Grimes and Thorpe and Eccles. So why did you pick Onyekel in terms of working alongside Bond? Why do you think them two are the best suited for Monday? Sometimes a game borrow a very good team in possession. I think Frank offers us a different type of physicality in midfield, but I don't want to talk him down with that because he can also play, and we also saw that. So he can drive with the ball, he can find passes, he's got great experience. He's a good all-round player, but with a slightly different look to what we've got in terms of natural abilities and attributes. From my part, I feel we needed options to approach, for instance, a free game week like we've got coming now, which are going to come, bang, bang, bang, which is the Championship. And the first half of the season we got through, of course, we were sitting top of the league. But at times the squad is tight and I think for what we need now, what we want to go forward to have those extra couple of options make us stronger. And preparation this week obviously changed because of the game on Monday. No, we just worked around it. Delighted, deserved. He's a very, very good player. He's a great player to work with from my point of view because he's forever engaging with you. I want to help him improve. I think we've done that since we've worked together and there's more to come from him. So I think it's great for him. It's great for the club, for the security on both sides. And it's deserved. Sure, sure. I think it's stability at both ends for the players. They deserve to work hard. Jay and Kitch have been a big mainstay of our performances this season in their own positions. So I think I'm happy with that. When I see players feel like they're improving, feel like they're enjoying coming to work, want to stay at the football club. If we want to improve, we have to try and keep players and improve and keep working with them as much as adding them in. And so there's three stories of players committing themselves to the club. It's great. There's a few more players that are out of contract next summer. Have any of the negotiations started with other players yet? Not as far as I'm concerned, but that's not for me to ring their agents and start with those combos. Thankfully, that's someone else. And West Brom, obviously it's going to be a different game to what you had at the CBS Arena. Only new management as well, Eric Ramsey. Coming under a bit of pressure when he started with a couple of results, but things have calmed down a bit. What have you made of Eric Ramsey in his first few games? Well, I know Eric a little bit because he's a Chelsea. So I met him and my staff know him pretty well. So I wish him all the best. It's not an easy job to come into this league. There'll be so much context that I don't know from the outside that he's dealing with. So I wish him really well. And obviously we'll go up against him tomorrow. And a bit like a local derby as well, because it's not too far, has a bit of an edge to it for the fans as well. So you know and the players know that there's another element to it. Yeah, there is. And that's great. But the element for us is to try and go and get the right result and perform as well as we can. We're just very focused on trying to do our job. Our fans always travel really well and their fans will be up for it because of the slight derby element, as you mentioned. But our focus has to be absolutely on what we do on the pitch. One last question. Just going to chat to Bobby after yourself. Obviously you come straight back at the same after his suspensions and the options you've got at the back. Is it quite a selection headache for you having the choice you've got in defence? Well, he did come straight back in the team, but he didn't play against Oxford. So we have options at the back of the pitch, which means everybody has to be absolutely on it at all times to try and get in the team. That's a good competitive balance of a squad. As much as it's not easy for me sometimes to not have people playing, centre-back can always be a conundrum in our job because you need four, because three isn't enough. If you get one injury, you're on tens of hoops. And with four, if they're all training as well as they are, specifically in the week into Middlesbrough, all the centre-backs training at a really good level. And then you see that, I think, in the performance of Bobby and Joel. And I know I can trust Wolfie and Kitsch and that's what it is. But Bobby has been a big part of my time here at the club. I think to see his development from day one to now and how he played against Borough, it's making sure he remains consistent in that level of performance, that level of focus, that level of training, all those things. Because if Bobby's consistent with all that stuff, he's, for me, if not the best centre-back in the league, he's one of them. And he can hopefully progress with us and keep moving forward because he has those talents. It must have been a good week, Bobby, after the win on Monday. Yeah, it's been a good week. It's been a positive camp. Obviously, with yourself playing alongside the back four, lots of changes over the last couple of weeks, but you came straight back into the side on Monday. How were you feeling being in that back four on Monday after the clean sheet that they kept running for? I was feeling ready to go after, you know. It was a really positive week of training. We worked on a lot of things and I thought everyone was ready for what was coming on Monday. And what came Monday showed that we were prepared fully for it. Obviously, Kyle Rushworth, a lot of confidence playing behind him as well. He got an assist as well. Was that quite nice seeing you guys at the back being contributing to the goal? Yeah. I think he's known for a sweet left, a sweet left kick. He's a really good striker at the ball and he's a really good keeper in good form at the moment. So I'll make it continue for him. And yourself, you haven't scored for a while. Have you got any kind of personal goal, like, tally you want to hit to start the season? I know as a defender it's different, but have you got, like, you want to score a few? Yeah, I just want to score as many as possible. But like I say, it's not been dropping for me at the moment. But I've just got to give back to my best in the box, I'd say. And I'm sure I'll be able to bring some contributions again. And obviously, Saturday against West Brom, a different side to what you played back in at the CNS Arena previously. But it's going to be a difficult test. What have you made of West Brom? Obviously, in the new management as well. Yeah, they've... I say they're a big club, but I don't think it should be where they are at the moment. I'm sure it'll be a tough game. We've got goals at the end of the season we both need to hit, and these last 14 games are going to be crucial for both teams. So I'm sure it'll be a really tough game. And we're expecting a battle, yeah. As I say, it's going to be a physical one because of their league, as you said, they're underperforming. They probably think that within the camp as well. Eric Ramsey's got a couple of goalless draws, so he's trying to steer that ----. But it's not going to be... How much do you think you're going to be able to play your football the way you want to play? Yeah, it'll be a physical game, but they're a good team as well. They're a technical side who can also get the ball down and play. I'm sure that however the gaffer sets us up and wants us to play will be the right decision. We'll go and try and execute the plan to the best we can. Yeah, very, very important. They're terrific every week, and as I say, they're sold out. Most away days are sold out nowadays, and I have big respect for them because it's every week.