Julen Lopetegui urges Wolves to take Chelsea seriously despite recent upheaval

Frank Lampard starts his second spell in charge of the Blues at Molineux on Saturday.

Nick Mashiter
Thursday 06 April 2023 14:42 BST
Julen Lopetegui and Chelsea manager Frank Lampard meet again this weekend (PA)
Julen Lopetegui and Chelsea manager Frank Lampard meet again this weekend (PA) (PA Archive)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Julen Lopetegui insists Wolves must ignore the Chelsea circus and focus on spoiling Frank Lampard’s return.

They host the Blues on Saturday with Lampard confirmed as the visitors’ manager until the end of the season after Graham Potter was sacked on Sunday.

Lampard, Chelsea’s record scorer, was dismissed by the club just over two years ago after spending 18 months in charge and with the club ninth in the Premier League, having spent £200m.

He has been out of a job since leaving Everton in January and Lopetegui knows Wolves – who are just a point above the drop zone – cannot afford distractions.

The boss said: “This is not under our control, we prefer to be ready and have our game plan. We don’t know if they are going to change anything or not. That’s why we put the focus on our daily work.

“We have seen the last matches of Chelsea, we know the quality of Frank Lampard.

“I’m sorry for Potter but welcome Frank, this is football. It’s not easy to find one better squad than Chelsea’s, they have a lot of big players with quality. We have to be ready for that.

“We have to put the focus on our team. I cannot lose a lot of time thinking about what’s going to happen. If you want to play in these matches you have to be close to perfection. Each little detail is going to be key.”

Hwang Hee-Chan is available after a three-week lay off but Ruben Neves starts a two-game ban with Jonny also suspended.

Daniel Podence will also be in the squad having been charged by the Football Association with spitting at Brennan Johnson during Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest.

Wolves will contest the charge and Lopetegui is confident of Podence’s innocence.

“Daniel Podence never, ever, spat at someone. That’s 100 per cent,” he said. “The club are working on it but Daniel never, ever, spat at anyone. Hee-Chan recovered this week.

“We know what kind of player Ruben is for us but he is going to be out for two matches and we can’t change that.

“Now we have to find solutions. This is our work.

“It’s not easy to win in the Premier League for any team. We are fighitng to be out of the relegation (zone), we are going to continue fighting. It’s going to be a very hard and long race for a lot of teams.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in