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Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has dismissed outside criticism of his summer spending.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp took aim at Chelsea and their outlay of more than £ 200m this week.
But Lampard says: “I’m not interested in other people; other people can talk about whether we challenge or not,” Lampard said at a press conference ahead of Chelsea’s opening game in Brighton on Monday night.
“For me, we finished many points behind Liverpool and Manchester City in the last two seasons, like everyone else, that’s how the league has gone.
“So first we have to look to close the gap and build trust by having the team work well together. I’m not going to get ahead of ourselves or make predictions about ourselves.”
“I thrive on those pressures and I enjoy them. I understand the different nature of the pressure that is coming this year. That’s why I love doing it.”
“I did not come to this job to fight for fourth place, although I know that last year was an achievement and one of our goals that we set ourselves.
“I didn’t come just to bring academy players to the first team and say I made debuts for so many players, I came here to win.
“Any club at our level has to try to tick off the top boxes and recruiting is a big part of that. Last year we couldn’t recruit in a big way.
“I couldn’t bring in players that I felt could be useful for the way I wanted to go and the style I wanted to play. This year, I’ve been able to have some impact on that.
“But the club, more importantly, has been able to make decisions to incorporate players. It changes the landscape, yes, but that excites me as much as feeling the pressure. I am ready to go to work.”
