Glen Johnson admits that the new Blues boss faces a tough start to his reign and has to deliver a top-six finish in order to be avoid becoming a flop <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Frank Lampard has been warned that he faces potential \u201cdisaster\u201d at Chelsea, with Glen Johnson saying his former team-mate has to deliver a top-six finish in difficult circumstances.<\/p>\n
The Blues legend has returned to Stamford Bridge to take on a first managerial post in the Premier League.<\/p>\n
He only has one season of coaching experience under his belt, picked up at Championship side Derby, and has walked into a two-window transfer ban in west London.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
That will force Lampard to get creative, with academy graduates set to get more of a look in during the 2019-20 campaign.<\/p>\n
While expectations around Chelsea are not as high as they have been in recent years, Johnson admits that the new man at the helm will still be under pressure to deliver.<\/p>\n
The ex-Blues and England defender told Betdaq of the challenges facing his former team-mate: \u201cThe transfer ban doesn\u2019t make life easy for Lamps at Chelsea, but given his affiliation with the club, he was surely the best candidate to take the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen playing with him, he always gave the impression he\u2019d do a good job as a manager. He did everything to detail and always took note of what the manager and coaches were doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been managed by some of the best around, so will have picked up plenty of traits which should really help him this season, especially when it gets tough.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he can somehow get them into the Champions League, I think it will be an amazing season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, I think a Europa League spot is much more realistic, though if they finish worse than sixth, it\u2019s got to go down as a disaster.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got still got fantastic players and even though they\u2019ve lost their best, they should still have enough quality to be competing with the better teams in the division.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Lampard is set to be handed a baptism of fire in a top-flight dugout on Sunday when Chelsea open their new Premier League season away at Manchester United.<\/p>\n
Johnson added on that test: \u201cI think Frank might have wanted an easier game to start his career at Chelsea, but in some ways it might be a good thing he\u2019s playing a top-six side like United so early on.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you play the big teams, it can be a bit of a shot to nothing, so if they lose he won\u2019t get anywhere near the criticism he might have got had he failed to get a result against a newly-promoted team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never really minded when we played a big side, though it\u2019s always nice to play one of your major rivals after a few games when you\u2019re in full-throttle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first game of the season can quite often be a bit scrappy as everyone isn\u2019t quite up to speed. You want to play the better sides when you\u2019re at full fitness with a few games under your belt.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n