Lampard: We're fighters, not quitters

Frank Lampard believes the Carling Cup triumph will send out a message to Chelsea's rivals for the rest of the season.

"We showed that we have the character, and the message from us is that we can fight when we have to," Lampard said.

"The pressure on us after losing at Barcelona all came from outside. Inside the camp we stayed confident. After going out of the FA Cup there was the speculation that we would go from the quadruple to nothing but we stayed firm and so did the manager."

Captain John Terry, voted man of the match in Cardiff, hailed his team-mates' resilience after they battled back from the quickest League Cup final goal. "We had a terrible start but we picked it up and in the last 10 or 15 minutes they looked a bit tired and we said to each other 'just keep getting at them' and it finally paid off.

"Physically we were a bit tired before [the game] but seeing their legs go gave us a lift and we picked ourselves up and I'm over the moon for Kezza."

Match-winner Kezman was similarly delighted: "It's our first trophy for a few years, I'm very happy and I enjoyed it.

"It is brilliant for us, this is our first trophy."