In his 13 years as a Chelsea player, Frank Lampard built up a tremendous rapport with Blues supporters.

Showing appreciation for the backing received is part of that, as is on-pitch achievement, and even though games have been ending without wins this season, the clapping of the fans after the final whistle should remain in place our caretaker manager makes clear, and indeed players have been thanking the fans after recent matches.

‘I haven’t asked them for that but I expect it from them,’ Lampard says.

‘At Arsenal I went and did the same myself. I think there is and there should be a big respect from players to the fans who pay their money and support the club.

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‘If there are moments when that doesn’t quite happen, one thing I say is the players are humans who sometimes have big disappointments themselves, and I don’t think that should be completely read into, but generally it should be that the players go and appreciate the fans.’

The Blues are at Bournemouth today aiming to be able to celebrate with our supporters for the first time since Lampard returned to the club. While large parts of this season have been painful for the players, he believes they can turn the experiences into a positive for the future.

‘Any top sports team or top sportsperson has numerous amounts of adversity in their career, and those adverse moments are what make you come back stronger and what makes success more pleasurable.’