• Midfielder hails club’s ‘togetherness’ in ‘difficult season’
• Credits Ancelotti for work after Inter and Blackburn slip-ups

Frank Lampard has suggested that winning the Premier League on Sunday would be as great an achievement as Chelsea’s two titles under José Mourinho and said they deserved the trophy as reward for their resilience in a “difficult season”.

“It’s been a season of peaks and troughs,” said Lampard. “To win the title under José Mourinho, especially the first year, was an amazing feeling and sensation. But this one, with the ups and downs we’ve experienced, feeling the low points of the season and the togetherness we’ve needed to come through … well, to go and achieve it now would be great. We’re within touching distance now.”

Lampard cited a clear‑the-air meeting overseen by Carlo Ancelotti after Chelsea’s European elimination and an apparently costly draw at Blackburn as having inspired the club to the brink of their first league and cup double.

A win at Liverpool on Sunday ensured that Chelsea will play Wigan on the final day knowing a win will bring a first title in four years, with the FA