LAMPARD TARGETS NEXT FA CUP FINAL, PUTS WEMBLEY DEFEAT OUT OF MIND

It is a shorter gap than usual between the previous season’s climax and the next third round but having missed out against Arsenal who won 2-1, Frank Lampard is not dwelling on that Wembley outing.

‘I’ve been in this game long enough and lost semis and finals and games along the way,’ he says.

‘For it [last season’s final] to be in the back of my mind six months later would be the wrong course. It was what it was, we had a cup final, we went 1-0 up, Christian Pulisic went clean through at 1-1 and tore him hamstring before he shot, we had a player sent off which was a harsh decision, but that game is gone.

‘It would have been nice to win it but the story of last season for me was us getting into the top four when most people didn’t expect us to do that. The FA Cup would have been a lovely ending but it didn’t happen.

‘The FA Cup is always a fantastic competition,’ Lampard adds, ‘and one we have to pay absolute respect to in these early stages and we want to get to a final again.’