Frank Lampard under pressure at Chelsea impatient, Sky Sports experts warn | Football news

Roy Keane believes Frank Lampard is under “great pressure” this season and fellow expert Graeme Souness warns that Chelsea will not show “much patience” to their coach.

Chelsea have fallen to eighth place in the Premier League following Sunday’s 3-1 loss to Manchester City, seven points behind leaders Liverpool having played one more game, meaning Lampard’s side have won just one of their last six league games.

Lampard’s Premier League points-per-game record at Chelsea is now 1.67, lower than any Blues boss in the Roman Abramovich era, and both Keane and Souness feel their time to prove themselves will be limited.

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“I didn’t realize that the word ‘patience’ exists in Chelsea, especially for coaches,” Keane said. “I don’t think Frank is going to have that long,” Keane said. “There is a lot of pressure this year for the money they have spent.

“Chelsea don’t give the coaches time. It’s in their DNA and history.

“He’s new to it. He’s 42 years old. [Jurgen] Klopp came from Dortmund and won great prizes there. He faces all these managers … [Carlo] Ancelotti, [Jose] Mourinho, [Pep] Guardiola. These guys have CV behind them. He won’t have the time that Klopp had [at Liverpool]. “

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s grueling defeat, Souness had also warned of mounting pressure on Lampard.

“The pressure comes on you as a manager when you start spending money, especially a lot of money,” Souness told Sky Sports.

“They finished fourth last year, the minimum is to get back into the Champions League. If you don’t finish in the top four after spending that much money and you finished fourth last year, you will surely be under pressure.

“As much as Frank is a legend in the club, I don’t think he will show much patience. But he will know the price at the entrance. If you are a coach today, time is not your friend.”

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Chelsea’s display against City offered little reassurance, with Keane withering in his assessment of the Stamford Bridge players.

“For the money they’ve spent, they don’t seem any stronger than last year,” Keane said. “Players that aren’t running back, I really don’t understand that. Frank will be worried. He has to be. There was a lack of energy, there were no tackles. That’s a big concern for me.”

Souness simply concluded: “That was a test for the new ones and none of them passed the test.

“That’s why you pay a lot of money, to make a difference in big games, to hurt your direct rivals. Chelsea didn’t come close to that.

Chelsea’s problems in focus

• Chelsea have scored just three points out of 18 possible against teams currently in the top seven in the Premier League.
• Chelsea have suffered as many defeats in their last six Premier League matches (W1 D1 L4) as they have in the previous 23 matches (W14 D5 L4).
• Chelsea (26) have three points less after 17 games than last season (29), whereas in the Premier League era, the Blues never finished above sixth place by accumulating a maximum of 26 points at this stage of the bell.
• Chelsea (v West Brom & Man City) have found themselves conceding at least three goals in the first 45 minutes of two Premier League games this season, only the third time they have done so more than once in the same campaign (also 1996-97 and 2011-12).
• After his 12th consecutive goalless appearance in all competitions, Chelsea’s Timo Werner has only embarked on two longer goalless runs during his entire career in the top flight (23 between January 2014 and October 2014 and 25 between December 2014 and September 2015). – both as a Stuttgart player.

Whats Next?

Chelsea now host Morecambe in the FA Cup third round on Sunday at 1.30pm, before going to Fulham on January 15 in the Premier League on Friday Night Football, live on Sky Sports Premier League at 8pm.