Chelsea remain committed to Frank Lampard despite poor form

Exclusive - Chelsea remain 100% committed to Frank Lampard until at least the summer, while the manager himself is ‘embracing’ the pressure on him amid a sticky patch of form.

Chelsea began the season strongly following a transfer window of huge expense, which saw the arrival of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, Edouard Mendy, Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva for a combined total of more than £200m.

However, the Blues have now lost three of their last five Premier League outings, which has seen them drop out of the top four, seven points behind leaders Liverpool.

Question marks have been raised over Lampard's ability to get the best out of his talented squad, while his side's record against the traditional big sides of the division is cause for concern.

Prior to the 3-0 win over West Ham earlier this month, the Blues had not beaten a side from the top half of the Premier League table in 2020/21.

Following the disappointing defeat to Arsenal on Boxing Day, there were even suggestions from some quarters that Lampard might be facing real pressure from the board for the first time since he took charge at the club in 2019.

However, sources close to the manager and the club have ensured 90min that this is not the case.

Despite the recent form troubles, Chelsea do not have any major worries and remain '100%' behind Lampard.

The former England midfielder officially has 18 months left on his current deal, while the plan has always been to assess the manager's long-term future in the summer of 2021.

Lampard, though not under immediate pressure then, is shouldering the responsibility for the poor results and is embracing the challenge at Stamford Bridge.

A source told 90min: “Frank knows the situation – he thrives on pressure. His ambition when getting into management was to be in charge of Chelsea and he knew that pressures that would come with and his eyes have always been open to that.

“He knows the team are better than they are looking at the moment obviously poor results and performance mean pressure, but he is very much embracing that.”

Lampard and Chelsea next face top four rivals Manchester City on 3 January in their first clash of 2021.