The change to five subs met resistance from those who believe it would offer an unfair advantage to the bigger, wealthier clubs with stronger squads who would have a greater range of options on the subs' bench.
Lampard said: 'When we spoke about it as managers the overriding factor whether they were for or against was that this was about player welfare, making sure we were looking after the players and giving them the best opportunity to perform at an optimum level, and not putting them at risk because of the uncertain times and the schedule.'
Chelsea face two games in three days over Christmas with a London derby at Arsenal on Boxing Day followed by a home fixture against Aston Villa on Monday 28th.
'That schedule gets tougher,' said Lampard. 'So it would have been really beneficial for player welfare. Normally, in the modern day, player welfare or employee welfare comes out on top. I don't think it quite has this time but the decision is made and we just carry on.'
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been among the stronger voices in favour of allowing five subs from nine on the bench.
Many competitions have adopted the change and, although the Premier League will allow teams to name nine players on the bench, they must continue to only use three of them.
Lampard said Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi returned to training on Friday after injuries and could be in contention for the game against West Ham on Monday.
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