LEEDS: Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has said that Champions League is extremely important for the side and it will also help the club to attract more players.
Chelsea will be facing Liverpool later today in the Premier League and the side would be looking to cement their place in the top four to gain qualification for the Champions League.
"It's massively important for the club. Not just for the prestige. But if you are a club on the world stage like Chelsea have been you want to compete at the highest level and attract players of the highest level," Goal.com quoted Lampard as saying.
"It obviously generates money for the club, let's make no bones about it. So you understand why there is such intense scrutiny on who finishes in the top four. It would have been unheard of a good few years ago. Now it becomes not a trophy but an accomplishment in itself," he added.
Lampard also admitted that gaining qualification for the Champions League has been an aim for the side for a long time.
"We want to move further than that so we look on upwards in the Premier League but getting into the Champions League has to be, even with the way this year the season has gone, it has to be an aim for us," Lampard said.
Chelsea is currently placed in the third place in the Premier League standings, one point ahead of both Manchester United and Leicester in a three-way battle for two spots in next season's Champions League.
"I understand the black and white judgment of the outside world and the Chelsea fans about it because it's a clear objective to get into the Champions League. I have a huge desire to get there but I'd still feel we've made huge strides. We weren't really in too many people's top fours at the start of the season. We've forced ourselves in there. I desperately hope we get there," Lampard said.
Chelsea currently has 63 points from 36 matches and the side will face Premier League 2019-20 winners Liverpool later today.
The Blues have also managed to qualify for the finals of the FA Cup after defeating Manchester United in the semi-finals.