Frank Lampard has underlined his determination to win the Champions League with Chelsea before the end of his career.
Lampard was part of the Chelsea side that lost to Manchester United on penalties in the 2008 final, and the Blues have also reached the semi-finals of the competition in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009.
Last season, though, they went out to Inter, the eventual winners, in the second round. At the age of 32, Lampard knows time may be running out, and he is desperate to add the trophy before he calls time on his career.
"I have won three leagues and quite a lot of the group have won one or more, but we have been so close to the Champions League, it does become a bit of a Holy Grail and I think the fans feel that," Lampard told Chelsea TV.
"I would never ever go into a season without the first thing on my mind being the Premier League. To win domestically is the biggest thing for me but I don't want to finish my career with five Champions League semi-finals and a final but with no medal.
"It is huge but it is such a difficult competition to win. Every year, you play group games before Christmas and you start again in February and you might have injuries or you might be losing form.
"We played Inter Milan last year at a time when we were down, so there are so many little bits that have to come together for you to win it, and that is what we are waiting for - that final little bit that we have missed."
Lampard believes Chelsea may well have won the competition last season had they overcome Inter.
He said: "Look at us in the league last year. We were on a run at the end, beating teams by six or seven goals, and if we could have translated that into the Champions League last year, if we had got through those Inter Milan games and gone on and played the way we were playing at the end of the season, I think we would have won the Champions League.
"I really believe that because we were playing so well, so it is about form and fitness. You need your big players. You can't win the Champions League without your big boys - simple as that. No team can."
