Frank Lampard delivers his verdict on the future of Chelsea boss Antonio Conte

Chelsea legend Frank Lampard believes the pessimism surrounding Blues boss Antonio Conte and his team has is not yet justified, as he suggested too many observers have rushed to judgement on what has been portrayed as a developing ‘crisis’ for the Premier League champions.

After a summer of unrest that included widespread reports hinting at an exit for Blues boss Conte and a public spat between the Italian tactician and his star striker Diego Costa, a 3-2 defeat against Burnley on the opening day of the Premier League season added to the depressed mood around the club.

Yet Lampard, who is Chelsea’s all-time record goalscorer, suggests Conte’s grumpy media appearances should not be viewed as evidence of his unrest at the club, as he suggested the final few days of the transfer window will be pivotal in setting the tone for the Blues title defence.

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“We are all reacting to the negative stories that are around Chelsea and the manager at the moment, but they may well sign two or three top class players in the next few weeks, fly out of the blocks and he might end up getting a five year contract at the end of this season,” BT Sport pundit Lampard told Yahoo Sport.

“He has got a two-year contract with the and we are all second guessing what might be happening behind the scenes at the club. I agree it has not all been positive this summer, but this team and this manager won the Premier League title a few months ago, so let’s not write them off.

“I have seen a few high profile pundits saying Conte would not be Chelsea manager a year from now, but you can probably say that about just about every manager in the Premier League and it would be a decent bet.

“Only one team will win the title this season and everyone else might be described as a failure in some quarters. There is such a short shelf life in management these days.”

Despite the negativity around Chelsea, Lampard believes they could defy their doubters for a second successive season by mounting a successful defence of their Premier League crown.

“I went for Chelsea as my title favourites before a ball was kicked this season and it is too early to change that,” added Lampard.

“Maybe people will say that is me speaking from the heart, but no one backed them to win the title last season and they ran away with it and when you look at this season now, it is very hard to predict who will end up as champions.

“All of the top clubs have added players and most of them come from foreign countries. We don’t know how they are going to adapt, will they fit in to the Premier League? We can’t say for sure yet.

“Manchester City probably have the most quality in terms of attacking players, but we don’t know whether they are all going to gel together. Last year it didn’t work for them, for sure, and that is what I say don’t dismiss Chelsea this time.

“Manchester City will be there, Manchester United will be there, Tottenham can get into the mix once more…Arsenal and Liverpool, I’m not sure there are in the mix to win the title.

“So why can’t Chelsea think about winning it again. When they had their best eleven out, no one could get near them last season. The system they played gave most teams trouble and they were very hard to play against.”

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