Frank Lampard believes
Chelsea have been forced to play second fiddle in the Premiership
title race.
Chelsea closed the gap on leaders Manchester United to three points
once more with victory on Lampard's only stamping ground West Ham
on Wednesday.
The Blues' relentless charge - they have won 17 of their last 20
matches, drawing the other three - has been impressive but they
have not been able to overhaul United at the top.
Lampard is still hopeful of overtaking United but believes The Red
Devils have benefited from playing their matches ahead of The
Blues, leaving the team from West London to play a game of catch
up.
"It has been like that for a while. The only time we played ahead
of them was when they lost to Portsmouth," said Lampard.
"We have virtually always been the second team playing and it has
been difficult. There is an added pressure when they have won but
we have learned to live with that problem.
"We have to keep winning and at this stage of the season it is so
close that whether they win, lose or draw, we still have to do our
thing and not take too much notice of their results.
"We are trying not to look too much at the points because we know
it is tight. We know we have got to play United but we have got to
keep winning. The moment we drop points it will become very tough
for us."