Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has had a difficult season at Chelsea but remains a 'high-level player', even if he is not currently 'at his freshest or sharpest' insisted interim head coach Frank Lampard.
The striker could be in line to start against his former club Arsenal in the Premier League, with the Blues still searching for their first win under what is now their fourth manager of the season.
It could also be a chance to truly kill off their London rival's hopes of winning the title, with Aubameyang no doubt possessing extra motivation, given his previous time spent with the Gunners.
The 33-year-old has yet to be named in Lampard's starting eleven, but he maintained that it was nothing personal: "He couldn’t play the two Champions League games, he came on against Wolves in the second half and he came on against Brentford," explained the Englishman.
"I think probably more than any position on the pitch, to be sharp and firing and have consistency in your work is what makes top strikers. If you take them out of the team for a while, coming back with that lack of edge is very, very difficult.
"When I came in, it was clear that Auba hadn’t played, just in terms of he hasn’t had a lot of minutes this season and maybe even going back to last season, but it was also clear the level of player [that he is].
"It was good to see him come on against Brentford and look as he looked, and I still won’t put too much on him because he might still need that little bit of time. Maybe I and we haven’t got time for this season so much, but he is a high level striker."
Some supporters have expressed confusion at the lack of appearances Aubameyang has made since arriving on Deadline Day last summer, especially considering the goalscoring issues which have plagued the Blues all season long.
Whilst Lampard was understanding of these critics, he stressed that the solution of playing a recognised central striker was not as clear as it may seem to those watching from afar.
"When you work everyday and you talk to the players, and you see things physically, like how they’re at in training, sometimes that relates to what your selection is.
"I think one thing’s for sure, as I said before, he’s a very high level player, but clearly in a situation where he’s maybe not at his freshest and sharpest.
"I will want a number nine that I can play off and that we can rely on - it’s not ideal for me to ask Raheem [Sterling] and Joao Felix to play in that number nine.
"We had to in games against Real Madrid, because Kai [Havertz] was missing in one of them. So there’s a lot of things that you have to put together and I don’t think the solution is always as easy as, ‘here’s a number nine’, I have to see if they’re ready or not to play."
Under no illusions
Given the incredibly poor run of results which the west London side have been on, some have questioned why Lampard was even incentivised to take the job in the first place, with the difficulty clear to see.
He had already suffered a tarnish to his reputation after being dismissed of his role at Everton earlier this year, despite guiding them away from relegation at the back end of last season, so the prospect of a caretaker role did not appear an obvious choice.
It has not been in any better in practice either, with the 44-year-old under intense scrutiny for his side's inability to even draw a game since he took charge, but despite this he was adamant that he did not regret taking the job.
"I knew that within five days of coming back we were playing Real Madrid away and then at home," he said.
"They’re a vastly experienced and quality team, and also you look at the games we had in the early stages - Wolves we had a day’s prep and then Brighton and Brentford are two really difficult opponents.
"I don’t think you can live your career considering those negatives and what they might mean. Maybe my footballing, playing career has given me a level of comfort there at home that I don’t have to be concerned, I just have to take decisions and enjoy working.
"I want to win games now, but I’m not thinking ‘what might this mean for me?’. Because for me, in my managerial career I’ve had versions of successes, and then times when I’ve left clubs, and I think that can be a pretty familiar story in modern day management."
Motivation issues
One of the issues with the five games under Lampard has been the apparent inconsistency in game plans throughout that time, with some berating the manager for being too defensive, and others not defensive enough.
With that sort of Goldilocks conundrum to deal with, it is perhaps no surprise that he instead chooses to block out most noise from the outside instead.
"I’ve got pride and I want to do this job as well as I can, but there’s no way I can be caring about whether someone thinks I was too defensive against Brentford.
"Because if you feel like that you can’t do this job, because everyone’s got an opinion so you’ve just got to stick to your guns. I enjoy a challenge - will I come out a bit better as a coach after this period? I think probably, yes.
"I came out from the first time at Chelsea better, I came out of my Everton experience better, I’ll come out of this better. I’m working as manager of Chelsea Football Club - it’s not a bad position to be in."
The caretaker manager also responded to the suggestion that it would be difficult to motivate players for the remainder of the campaign, given the relative lack of importance of each game, and he was measured in his response.
"I’ve also got my holiday booked in June, but I’m not demotivated to prepare for Arsenal because I’m going to America in the summer. It’s not going to work that way for me and it shouldn’t work that way for the players.
"But I also understand it … young lads that are maybe considering their futures, considering what next year might look like for them, and I have to take all those things into account. I can’t expect everybody of the 30-man squad to walk in with a big smile on their face."
Realistic goals
Finally, Lampard was asked about his expectations for the numerous young players that have joined the club in recent months, and how he might be able to assist with their progress in the final six games of the season.
"To develop a player in five weeks from one thing to another finished article is not going to happen. You also need the player to be of a level where they’re going to produce, because I think developing players is something that’s always looked at.
"People might credit myself with Mason [Mount], or credit another manager when another young player comes through, but the player has to be of a level."
"We also shouldn’t expect too much of players that have just got here and maybe that’s part of the story this year.
"Young players [are] coming in and because of the performance of the team being expected to come and make a difference. In an ideal world, at a club the level of Chelsea, you want to bring in those players with some stability of performance and results where they can find their time [and] look at other players that are playing in front of them.
"Even if it’s interim, we’re certainly not a group of staff that are putting our feet up and going, ‘let’s just get paid and wait for our holidays’. We’re actually all Chelsea people in there that are actually trying to make this as positive an experience for everybody as possible."