Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has revealed that his relationship with manager Andre Villas-Boas has "not been ideal".
The 33-year-old, who has been out of favour with the Portuguese coach this season, started and scored in the Blues' 3-0 win over Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
"I think, from the outside, you can probably see that it's not been ideal but the important thing is not to focus on individual relationships too much," said Lampard. "It can only be negative and people do like to play on negatives.
"There have been certain issues. Certain players, we don't like not to play. But it's never a case of players throwing their toys out of the pram to the detriment of the club.
"I'm sure we're all frustrated at the minute, everyone who's involved, especially people who have got Chelsea in their hearts, who have been here a long time and want to see us performing as we should do."
Chelsea, who are currently fourth in the Premier League table, travel to West Bromwich Albion next weekend.
Jack Prescott
