Frank Lampard said Chelsea had no say in the decision to postpone the game against Fulham and believe that the Premier League needs to do more to connect with the clubs about possible fixtures.

The Blues are due to head to Craven Cottage tonight, but will join Scott Parker’s side tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon. Start is at 5.30 p.m.

The match was postponed for a day because Fulham were drafted against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night. The two teams were scheduled to face each other on December 30, but an outbreak of Covid-19 in the Cottagers bubble resulted in the game being postponed.

Lampard insists he understands the Premier League’s situation this season due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but doesn’t think enough will be decided in partnership with clubs and points to Chelsea’s Christmas schedule, which sees the Blues 48 times twice played hours

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“We weren’t really flexible [with moving the Fulham game]We were just told what the games would be like so that wasn’t our flexibility, ”said Lampard.

“I would have preferred to keep the game on a Friday but that has been overridden and with Covid and the situation I am very happy to play fair with it.

“I get it. It didn’t kill us this weekend, the schedule didn’t get us to play two games in two days so I’m fine with that and we must all try to understand the situation.

“But here, too, we weren’t looked after over Christmas as we could have been, and for me the Premier League has to open the dialogue and there is a lot more discussion.

“It can’t be that you were only told. It has to be an open conversation and I understand Scott was informed about it two days before the Premier League game. This is really not good enough for me. “

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Chelsea’s preparations against Fulham were not affected by the decision to postpone the game. In fact, Lampard spent almost a week at the Cobham training grounds to work with his side.

However, it does mean the Blues have one day less time to recover and prepare to face Leicester City on Tuesday night. One game that could have an impact on who ends up in the top 4 of the Premier League is the end of the campaign.

Lampard doesn’t have a big problem with the shorter turnaround for the game at King Power Stadium, but says the lack of consistency across the schedule will “shape” the campaign.

“My biggest gripe as Chelsea Football Club manager is that when we played two games on the 26th and 28th over Christmas when it clearly could have been postponed, no one came to help us,” he said.

“So the schedule couldn’t be postponed over Christmas, but it can be postponed now because we are fighting Covid.”

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Lampard continued: “Over Christmas it was okay if we had to play twice in two days when Man United, Liverpool and Tottenham played twice in three days. It seems like consistency is going to be difficult and definitely shape this season.

“Whatever happens, there will continue to be great difficulties for different teams.

“I don’t want to cry too much from our point of view, but from our experience over Christmas to what happens this week, I felt that the Premier League could have taken better care of us – and Aston Villa – by keeping the Game and they haven’t. “

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