Axe spurred me on - Lampard

Published Nov. 7, 2011 1:15 p.m. ET

foxsports

Lampard's sixth goal of the season helped Chelsea to a hard-fought 1-0 win at Blackburn on Saturday to end a run of two successive Premier League defeats. The 33-year-old's future at Stamford Bridge was the subject of speculation earlier this season after he lost his place in Andre Villas-Boas' starting XI. However, Lampard has battled back to win his spot back in the side and he is happy to silence his critics. "Being out of the team spurred me on," admitted Lampard. "The minute you're taken out of the team, people talk. I've trained hard and I've won my place back in the team." Meanwhile, Lampard is confident Chelsea can get themselves back into title contention despite slipping nine points behind leaders Manchester City in recent weeks. "Last year we were 15 points behind and we got back to where we could have won it at the end," added Lampard. "You never write it off, but you have to see how well the other teams are playing, particularly City, and we don't want to give ourselves that much of a mountain to climb at this stage. "It's enough of a gap as it is, and the competition at the top is so fierce you cannot afford to lose too many points. But I think experience tells us there's a long way to go."