Frank Lampard is happy to return his focus to Chelsea after England’s dismal World Cup showing and admits England’s friendly with Hungary next week is ‘not ideal’.

The Wembley clash next Wednesday comes in the week the Premier League champions begin their title defence and the schedule facing players has also been criticised by managers including Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp.

Lampard is pleased to be back with the Blues after the World Cup, although his preparations for the Premier League opener with West Brom on Saturday 14th August are set to be punctuated by the England friendly.

Betting for the opener has Chelsea at 1.16 to win, with West Brom 17.00 to cause an upset, and the draw is 7.00.

“I have got to be honest, the disappointing summer is not affecting the Chelsea side,” said Lampard in the Guardian.

“Of course, we are disappointed with England but it is almost a breath of fresh air to come back to Chelsea.

“We won the double last year and that is a nice feeling.

“There is no niggling mental effect from the World Cup at all.

“When the England games come then we will approach that but in terms of Chelsea, I think it is exciting to be back.”

Lampard acknowledged England’s friendly with Hungary is important as Fabio Capello’s side begin preparations for the 2012 European Championships qualification campaign, but said the timing was not convenient for clubs.

“It’s obviously not an ideal situation,” he added in the Sun.

“All the teams want to get players fit for the start of the season. But England also need to prepare for the European Championship qualifying games.

“Right now I’m just excited to be back at Chelsea.”

You can back England to top their Euro 2012 qualification group at odds of 1.28, while it’s 9.00 for the Three Lions to win the tournament outright.

Lampard’s Chelsea are available at 2.50 to win the Premier League 2010/11 outright, with the midfielder currently 23.00 to be the Leading Goalscorer come the end of the season.

View all Soccer betting

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill knows the speculation surrounding his future at the club may never go away.

O’Neill ended the 2009/10 campaign with a question mark hanging over whether he would still be in charge for the forthcoming campaign.

Club owner Randy Lerner quickly put an end to any doubt by giving the Northern Irishman a vote of confidence at his end-of-season briefing.

But O’Neill knows the same sort of rumours could resurface at any time and accepts it is just part of the job.

O’Neill told the Birmingham Mail: “I’ve never worried about looking for votes of confidence or anything like that.

“I’ve never bothered about it in the past and certainly now, as I get older, I’m less concerned about it than ever.

“Who’s to say it (the speculation) has gone away? This is the nature of the game.

“You’re in it. You’re judged. You’re judged on the last 25 minutes of the last game you’ve played. It’s not a problem to me.

“But really I’ve known this for a long, long time about the nature of football management. That’s not unusual to me.”

O’Neill is still bemused how stories on his future spread after an internet blog claimed his days at Villa Park were numbered.

He said: “When some story appears on a blog and people take it up, then you find out that you’re having to answer to it.

“I shouldn’t find it incredible any more but it just is. The fact people kept on running with it and kept going with it became tiresome.”

Aston Villa begin their Premier League 2010/11 campaign at home to West Ham on Saturday 14th August. It’s 1.66 for O’Neill’s men to get off to a winning start, with the Hammers 5.50 and the draw 3.60.

View all Soccer betting

Everton defender Leighton Baines is happy with the preparations of his side ahead of the new Premier League season.

The Merseysiders continued their impressive and unbeaten pre-season campaign with a 2-0 win over Everton – their Chilean namesakes – in a friendly at Goodison Park on Wednesday night.

The Toffees now have just one more run-out, against German side Wolfsburg on Saturday, before their Barclays Premier League opener against Blackburn on Saturday 14th August.

Match betting for the clash has Everton at 2.62 to win, with Blackburn 2.75 and the draw 3.25.

Everton made a poor start last term, losing 6-1 to Arsenal on day one and then collecting just 15 points in 14 games, but Baines feels more positive this time around.

The England international said: “The games and the training have gone well so far.

“The important thing now is that we try to keep everyone fit and get ready to start the season as well as we have done in pre-season.

“As the games come along you get a bit sharper and everyone has looked sharp in all the games.

“Everyone wants to go into the first game on a high note so it is important we end this pre-season well.

“We all know last season that we had a poor result in the first game, one of the worst we could have imagined.

“It is important, psychologically, to start well – but it is one game and there is plenty of time to recover.”

Baines has been impressed with the performances of new boy Jermaine Beckford this summer.

The 26-year-old striker is stepping up to the top flight after excelling at League One level with Leeds.

Beckford followed up his double against Preston last month with his first goal at Goodison as he headed the opener against Chile’s Everton.

Baines added: “It looks like he knows how to score. He is one of those people that have a knack for finishing.

“He looked sharp and he also offers a threat behind. He looks like he is going to be a good addition to the squad.”

Everton finished last season strongly as they lost just two of their final 24 games.

It was form that might have seen them qualify for Europe had they not struggled so much early on when injuries proved a major factor. They ultimately had to settle for eighth.

With most of the big names now fit – Marouane Fellaini played for the first time since February last night – Baines expects things to be different this year.

The 25-year-old said: “We haven’t been used to having so many players over the last couple of seasons – they’ve been littered with injuries and problems.

“It’ll be nice to have everyone fit. We’ve got some real strength in depth now and some nice problems for the manager.”

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov grabbed the other goal last night as Everton comfortably saw off the South American team founded and named after them in 1909.

Everton are currently 2.62 to finish in the top six of the Premier League 2010/11.

View all Soccer betting

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill has expressed his frustrations at an international friendly just 72 hours before the start of the new Barclays Premier League campaign.

O’Neill could lose up five potential England players – James Milner, Stephen Warnock, Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Stewart Downing – for next Wednesday’s friendly with Hungary.

The Midland side could also be without Richard Dunne, Stiliyan Petrov, Brad Guzan and John Carew as they are likely to be called up by the Republic Of Ireland, Bulgaria, United States and Norway respectively.

O’Neill, whose side face West Ham at Villa Park on Saturday 14th August, said: “It is a problem to have an international match the week before the season starts.

“I think that international football has been well and truly accommodated by the Premier League and all leagues around Europe in terms of games (next Wednesday).

“Then, in early September, there are two internationals in quick succession and the players are away for almost two weeks and it eats into the season.

“From that viewpoint, it is a bit of a nuisance.”

Full Time Result betting for the opener has Aston Villa at 1.66 to win the match, with the Hammers 5.50 and the draw 3.60.

Meanwhile Villa defender Carlos Cuellar is battling to be fit for the clash with Avram Grant’s side.

The Spanish player suffered a hamstring strain in the weekend Guadiana Cup clash with Benfica in Portugal.

View all Soccer betting

Blackpool have received a boost by learning that midfielder Keith Southern’s knee injury is not as bad as first feared.

The 26-year-old was carried off with suspected medial ligament damage during the Tangerines’ pre-season friendly loss at Bristol City on Saturday.

Southern will still miss the start of the Barclays Premier League season but his lay-off is likely to be weeks rather than months.

Blackpool begin their first season back in the top flight of English football with an away trip to Wigan on Saturday 14th August.

Ian Holloway’s men are 4.33 to win the opener, with Wigan 1.83 and the draw 3.60.

A former Everton trainee, Southern told the club’s website, www.blackpoolfc.co.uk: “I had a scan yesterday and I was fearing the worst, not only my medial ligament but my cruciate ligament as well.

“I had a bit of good news last night and it’s neither. I’ve torn a muscle that attaches to the kneecap, so I’m still going to be out a little while, but it’s very positive in that I haven’t damaged any of the main structures to the knee.”

Blackpool, who are anxious to bolster their threadbare squad before their season opener, can ill afford another serious injury.

The club learned last week that striker Billy Clarke is likely to miss most of the season with cruciate ligament damage.

Southern, a key member of the promotion-winning side, added: “That was my first thought because the pain was really bad and really sore.

“I wasn’t able to put any weight on it and it swelled up quite heavily, so I feared the worst.

“The scan was really reassuring and hopefully I’ll see a knee specialist this week and he’ll be able to advise me.

“Early indications are that I probably won’t need surgery, he’ll just put me in a knee brace for a certain number of weeks and I’ll be back sooner rather than later.

“I’m very hopeful that I’ll be back in the next couple of months.”

Blackpool are currently 1.28 to be relegated from the Premier League 2010/11.

View all Soccer betting