Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez in dark over Frank Lampard's future

Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez was unable to shed any fresh light on Frank Lampard's future after the midfielder scored his 12th goal of the season.

The 34-year-old struck a trademark effort from the edge of the penalty area as Chelsea beat Wigan 4-1.

Lampard's contract is due to expire at the end of the season and the club have yet to begin talks over an extension.

When asked whether the decision on Lampard's future would be his, Benitez told BBC Sport: "What do you think?"

"It is very clear that my position is that Frank is doing a good job and working very hard," Benitez added.

"Hopefully he can score another 20 goals and I will be really delighted. He has to keep playing football, he is a good professional and he is doing well."

Lampard's representatives last week insisted no new talks have taken place and Benitez insisted he was in the dark over the player's future.

He said: "It is not my decision, I am trying to improve him if that is possible because he is a great influence."

Lampard's 86th-minute strike saw him move to within four goals of Bobby Tambling's club record of 202 as Chelsea, who had won just three of the previous 10 games, triumphed for the first time since the victory over Arsenal. "We deserved to win," Benitez said.

"To win is something you have to do. Top sides, if you want to win something, you have to be consistent winning. It's normal.

"But it's not the end of the world if you draw a game you deserve to win. The problem for me would be if we don't create chances; we create chances every game.

"We score goals. We're making some mistakes, but we have a lot of positives. Today four goals could be six goals at the end."

The result eased the pressure on Benitez, but the Spaniard insists it is not something he is thinking about. "It was just speculation," he said.

"Nobody is in contact with the owner to find out if he says this or that. It is my job: try to win every game. That's it, so I have to concentrate on that."