'I'm not completely surprised' - Ex-Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has not been caught off-guard by the club's current form, says he 'expected more' from Blues last campaign

The London side hoped to recover from a disappointing 2022-23 campaign, in which they sacked two managers - Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter - before bringing club legend Lampard back for the remainder of the season.

However, the Blues have endured a rough start to the season, having won just once in the Premier League this season since Pochettino was appointed coach in the summer.

Lampard says the team should have performed better than the 12th-placed finish in the league that they accomplished last season, but maintains that there is no quick fix for their issues, suggesting Pochettino needs time to get his team in shape.

"I'm not completely surprised with some of their difficulties, having lived it first hand at the end of the season. I came into a club where it had been eight months of results you don't expect from Chelsea, and that's working with two, in my opinion, very good managers, top managers, in Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.

"I felt I could see some of the issues there, which were issues probably with confidence from results. When you're with Chelsea if you don't win that builds, that nervousness. And maybe some motivation amongst the squad which I think was probably through having such a big squad, unprecedented numbers. A lot of players felt their time was up at Chelsea or it was coming or maybe Chelsea were going to move them on and I lived that feeling."

"So I think you have to affect it by hiring a very good manager in Mauricio Pochettino and then recruitment. So, there's big, big changeover, but there is no magic wand as such in football and the Premier League is the most unforgiving. I expected more in terms of points but I never felt it would be an instant turnaround."

Chelsea are in action against Fulham on Monday.