Frank Lampard feels that Chelsea must hone their attacking ruthlessness.
In order to build on a long-overdue triumph and start closing the considerable gap to the Premier League's top teams, according to Frank Lampard, Chelsea must develop into "killers" in attack.
The mid-table Blues defeated Bournemouth 3-1 on Saturday to snap a nine-match losing streak, which included six straight losses since Lampard was reappointed.
At Vitality Stadium, Conor Gallagher gave the visitors the lead with a header. However, after Matias Vina tied the score, the visitors were mainly impotent going forward until late goals from Benoit Badiashile and Joao Felix snapped the long dry spell.
Chelsea's potential this season is limited to a top-half finish, but they will aim to be competing for Champions League qualification at the very least next year.
The club has already spent more than £600 million on transfers since Todd Boehly's takeover, but interim manager Lampard, who is set to depart Stamford Bridge in the summer, believes the Blues must develop a vicious streak in order to achieve that.
Regarding the south coast's victory, he observed, "We dominated a lot of the game.
Without the killer instinct, we frequently ran into their penalty area in the opening period and committed numerous overloads on the side of the field.
"And I think you have to be more killers at the top end of the pitch as this team develops or as we add to the squad," he continued.
"That is what you will see all across the top half of the table, if you look at it. We don't have that right now. But you saw some good individual efforts that went in the right direction.
Chelsea, a two-time champion of Europe, is currently in 11th place, a stunning 40 points behind the league's leader Manchester City and far from the top four.
Traveling supporters, who had earlier chanted insults at American businessman Boehly, rejoiced in the long-awaited victory with the self-deprecating cry, "We are staying up."
After a disastrous first season in charge, Lampard predicted that the club's owners would eventually be prosperous.
The former Blues midfielder claimed, "The fans have grown accustomed to great success and they demand great success.
"What I do know is that the supporters will support this team. I am aware that there are numerous efforts underway to move this club in the direction we desire.
"No club of our scale has ever existed without going through a time of transition.
"People would give a left arm to have the success we've had for 20 years, so if it's our year where we have to go again and work a little bit and try and come back stronger next year, everyone stick together, then I'm sure we will."
The west London club will now play matches against the champions-elect City, the relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest, and the Manchester United and Newcastle teams that are competing for the Champions League.
After limping off against the Cherries, Lampard worries that left-back Ben Chilwell won't be available for the last stretch.
He stated, "It's a hamstring injury."
"We don't know if it's serious, but a hamstring injury at this point in the season is obviously concerning for the next few games," said the doctor.
Although Bournemouth had the better chances to win when Hakim Ziyech's free kick into the penalty area set up Badiashile's crucial goal, Bournemouth finished the weekend tied with Chelsea with 39 points.
Head coach Gary O'Neil is eager to fix the Cherries' division-worst record for goals allowed from set pieces.
We've had trouble stopping balls that enter the box, he said. "We need to do better, and it's something we're definitely conscious of.
I'm optimistic that we can make progress week by week and then put plans in place for next season to make us much stronger in that area.
