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Lampard's Chelsea place not in danger - Villas-Boas

Frank Lampard lasted 45 minutes at Old Trafford © PA Photos

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Andre Villas-Boas has attempted to quash speculation that Frank Lampard's Chelsea future is in doubt, labelling the England midfielder a "key player" at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard was a casualty of Chelsea's poor first-half defensive performance against Manchester United at the weekend, which saw them finish the opening period trailing 3-0. He was replaced at the interval by Nicolas Anelka, who instantly created a goal for Fernando Torres.

With Ramires and Raul Meireles sharing the midfielder burden alongside Lampard, it was something of a surprise that it was the longest-serving of the trio who was taken off. Meireles, in particular, requires time to become an authority at Chelsea having just joined the club, but the fact that he was preferred to a player who has scored 116 league goals for the club undoubtedly caused a few raised eyebrows.

Villas-Boas is keen not to make an issue of the situation though, insisting his decision was purely tactical. Indeed, he felt Lampard had enjoyed a good 45 minutes.

"There's nothing here. It's the decisions that we have to make," Villas-Boas said. "Bearing in mind the result, it was an attacking substitution that we thought was right.

"It wasn't because he was playing bad. He was having quite an impact on the game. So there's nothing to be based on Old Trafford because his display was good.

"It was something we had to do to try to change the style. He's proven in his career that he's a fantastic player and he'll be a key player for the rest of the season."

Villas-Boas also would not comment on the mindset of Fernando Torres, ahead of Chelsea's Carling Cup clash at home to Fulham on Wednesday. Torres missed an open goal at a crucial moment for Chelsea against United, but Villas-Boas says the matter is in the past.

"It's not a question about an individual player. We're very happy with how our team responds," said the Chelsea boss. "We managed to have everybody training and everybody is strong and has the correct frame of mind to change from one competition to another.

"The opportunities will be there for our younger players, but we have to try to put ourselves in the situation where we can win the game and the competition. That's what we want to do."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.