Chelsea midfielder Barkley to be given a new lease of life by his idol Lampard

Frank Lampard wants Chelsea’s creative midfielders to trust their instincts and embrace risk as he attempts to bring thrills back to Stamford Bridge.

Lampard is searching to strike the right balance in a team shorn of the goals and assists of Eden Hazard and unable to raid the market because of a transfer ban.

The strikers will shoulder most of the responsibility but there will be demands on wingers and attacking midfielders such as Ross Barkley, Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, when fit again.

‘He’s been saying, “Express yourself on the pitch, take risks, don’t be too safe, shoot, try and create chances”,’ said Barkley.

‘It is something I can do and it’s what he’s been putting across to me in training and the pre-season games. You don’t want to play in your shell, you want to be off-the-cuff sometimes to take chances and make something happen.

‘That’s what players like myself, Mason and Ruben, when he’s back, want to express on the pitch. You can’t be too worried if you take a risk and whether it’s not going to come off. You have to try to make things happen. I’m looking forward to taking my chances.’

After only three Premier League goals in 18 months at Chelsea, Barkley hopes new manager Lampard will revive the creative side of his game which so impressed when he burst from the academy at Everton.

‘He was one of my idols as a kid,’ said the 25-year-old Barkley. ‘I was always watching Match of the Day and you saw him every week scoring goals.

‘Now he is our manager and it is brilliant for all the players. He’s a legend of the game — the highest scoring midfielder in Premier League history and so we are going to take all he has to give us. He will help all the midfielders.

‘I’ve been playing a bit further forward. He’s told me to think like a striker, especially as a No 10, but to help out defensively and work hard off the ball.”