Frankly, it's time to lay that ghost

The midfielder was one of three men who missed penalties in the quarter-final shoot-out defeat by Portugal at the AufSchalke Arena in July 2006 and he walked out of the stadium that day a broken man.

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Lampard dreamed of scoring the winning goal for England in the World Cup Final, but those aspirations were shattered by defeat to Big Phil Scolari's side.

He returns to the stadium on Tuesday evening billed as the in-form midfielder in England and few would argue after a sparkling return to form.

Lampard scored a hat-trick against Leicester in the Carling Cup last week and added another in Saturday's 2-0 win at Wigan. Now he has Schalke 04 in his sights.

Like his predecessor Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant is well aware of the impact Lampard can make with his surging runs from the centre of midfield and the shackles will again be off against Schalke.

There were shades of Mourinho when Grant claimed that England would have beaten Russia in last month's Euro 2008 qualifier if Lampard and John Terry had started the game, but Chelsea's new manager is entitled to a bit of a swagger.

Seven successive victories have altered the landscape at Stamford Bridge and the likes of Lampard can take credit for Chelsea's dramatic recovery.

Grant said: 'I'm not objective but I was a national coach in Israel and I'm sure that if Frank and John had been playing in Russia, the result would have been very different.

'Frank is a strong character, as everyone knows. What happened here in Germany to Frank belongs in the past —even if he'd experienced good things here I'd say the same.

'Everyone makes mistakes sometimes but I have full confidence in him. He scored a penalty at Liverpool in a very difficult time for the team and it was a very good penalty.

'What's important is the character of the player and the quality. Frank has both.'

Lampard has returned to the Chelsea team after a seven-game absence through injury with a raw determination and he will captain the team again in Terry's absence.

Chelsea's skipper has targeted Sunday's Premiership clash against Everton for his comeback following knee surgery and others will soon be in the frame.

Michael Ballack, who last played against Newcastle in April, trained with the reserves for the first time yesterday and Ashley Cole is closing on a return from his ankle injury.

Lampard's vitality has lifted spirits and despite the dark circles under Grant's eyes, the manager is buoyant, too. Their 2-0 victory over Schalke at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago put them top of Group B and another win will almost certainly secure a last 16 place.

Schalke are struggling to make an impact in the Bundesliga after four successive defeats and Chelsea should be too strong for Mirko Slomka's side.

Grant, who attended his first football management course in Duisburg 30 years ago, added: 'In every aspect of our game we have improved since I took over. Our defensive game is better and we're better in attack. We've brought in a new style and become well organised in a short period of time.

'When you want to be more attack-minded, it's difficult to keep the defence strong, but I think in the past few games we have done a good job.

'I'm pleased with the performances and the results but this is the Champions League and we have not qualified yet. We want to make sure we do that as soon as possible.

'I'd like to do something with Chelsea with style. I've created things all my life and we are moving in the right direction. The team deserves credit and to do so many positive things in such a short period reflects well on everybody at this club.'

SCHALKE 04 (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Rafinha, Bordon, Krstajic, Westermann; Jones, Ernst; Grossmuller, Rakitec, Lovenkrands; Larsen.

CHELSEA (4-3-3): Cech; Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, Bridge; Makelele, Lampard, Essien; J Cole, Drogba, Malouda.

Referee: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland).

TV: ITV4 from 7.30pm (kick-off 7.45).