Lloris has demanded clarification over his future at the club after being rotated with the American since his summer arrival from Lyon.

Friedel, however, is remaining diplomatic about the fight for a place in Andre Villas-Boas' starting XI.

When asked if he was doing anything different to stay ahead of Lloris in the pecking order, he said: "No, nothing different to the way in which the two great goalkeepers we already had on the books in Carlo Cudicini and Heurelho Gomes were doing so all last season.

"We have four very good goalkeepers here at the club and we know that there is competition for places between all of us."

The 41-year-old saw his run of 310 consecutive Premier League starts ended when Lloris was picked ahead of him for a 2-0 win over Aston Villa back in October but the former Blackburn keeper maintains that his overwhelming feeling was pride at having made such a milestone.

"I think at that stage I was just more proud of the achievement than anything - it's not a small amount of games," he said.

"At the same time though, I knew I was still fit and there was no feeling whatsoever that my career was over. It was just a case of backing the players on the field and I was happy we got the result against Aston Villa by winning 2-0."

Friedel also expressed a reluctance to retire any time soon, fearing that he might regret the decision soon after.

"There's not really any special motivation, I just love playing football. I've always been a self-motivator," he said.

"Most of my friends, who are of similar age that I've played with over the years, have either recently retired or have been out of the game for a while now.

"They all tell me the same thing though - that there is nothing better than playing football and you should keep doing it for as long as you can."

And he remained coy when asked about a return to MLS and his native country near the end of his career.

"That's the kind of decision I feel I don't have to make just yet," he said.