THUMB-THING SPECIAL ... Lampard is backing England

FRANK LAMPARD is urging England to conquer Europe the Chelsea way.

Blues’ Champions League triumph came despite injuries, suspensions, a change of manager and the odds stacked against them.

And, in a stunning Sun Euro exclusive, Lamps says: “England can do what Chelsea have done. There are a lot of similarities, after all — new manager and key players missing through injury and suspension.

“At Chelsea we found all the adversity brought us even closer together.

“Yes, we had some luck along the way too.

“But the mental strength we showed and our refusal to accept defeat helped us overcome Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

“I’m sure England can show the same men- tality and attitude.

“They will definitely need more of the ball than we got against Barcelona. You can’t play like that every game and expect to get away with it.

“But Barca are an exceptional team and dominate everybody.”

Lampard is one of the players ruled out of Roy Hodgson’s squad with a thigh strain.

But he added: “The good news for England is there isn’t a dominant team at the Euros, not even Spain this time around.

“So it’s very open.

“OK England are not anything like favourites. But neither were Chelsea, so I’m feeling pretty positive.

“The first game against France is crucial and I’ll be cheering England on all the way.”