Frank Lampard knows expectations will be huge at Chelsea after a record-breaking recruitment drive in the current window.
With Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva and Kai Havertz arriving at Stamford Bridge and £25m-rated goalkeeper Edouard Mendy on their radar, the Blues will have spent over £250m – eclipsing Manchester City’s £227m splurge for the 2017-18 season.
After a fourth-placed Premier League finish, an FA Cup final defeat and a last-16 exit in the Champions League, owner Roman Abramovich, known for his itchy trigger finger, will want more from his investment.
And Lampard says: “I’m very aware that a club like Chelsea, even though we had a transfer ban, even though the year was difficult, expectations are going to go up hugely.
“And I just have to accept that as part of the job, and try and go about my job as well as I can.
“And then if I am having relationships, between managing up [to the board] or managing around me, I have to be as good as I can with those, because they’re really important.
“Because the tough times will come, and I’ll rely on those, all of those little ones.
“And it might not be managing up, that might be managing the kit man or a member of staff around you. Because I’ve seen how the dominoes can fall very quickly.
“And I think if you isolate yourself as a manager, or you don’t want to open yourself up to all of those relationships along the way, I think they fall much quicker.”