Frank Lampard insists that inexperience holds no fear for him at Chelsea, and that he feels ready to be in the hotseat at Stamford Bridge.
The 41-year-old became the Blues' head coach in the summer, with Lampard succeeding Maurizio Sarri in west London after the Italian left Chelsea to join Juventus.
That was despite Lampard only having one season in management at Derby County, with the Chelsea legend guiding the Rams to the Championship play-off final, where they lost to Aston Villa at Wembley.
But Lampard, who had a baptism of fire in his first competitive game in charge at Old Trafford on Sunday as Chelsea lost 4-0 against Manchester United, says he has learnt a lot about himself from his first season in management and his ability to teach.
“You don’t know that until you start the job. It is easy to rely on my 21 years of playing, but it is different when you come to the other side," Lampard said, speaking to BT Sport programme Sport in Focus.
“One thing I learnt a lot about myself was when you see something, or feel something, it is how you deal with it to improve.
“It is quite easy sometimes to coach, and things happen in training, but you have to wait for the right moment where you can have a moment of improvement, either individually or for the group.
“I am not trying to blow my own trumpet here because there are people who do it who are the best in the world, we know about Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp and how they work, because we see the results of it.
“What I am more interested in is the detail behind the scenes, the moments one-on-one, sometimes off the pitch, and the moments which are crucial when you work with the team as a group and on how you want to play.
“I worked a lot with a team last year tactically, because we felt that was a big thing, it was physically and tactically, which I took on board straight away, and tried to work on it."
And Lampard has delivered an emphatic response to any suggestions from some pundits and fans that he is not experienced enough in management for such a big job.
“Inexperience will always be thrown at me after one year in management and coming in to the Chelsea job; I have no fear of that," Lampard said.
“I am not scared of the inexperience at all, I feel ready at the same time as being humble to the fact that I need to keep working and trying to improve myself, but I certainly feel ready to be here."
Lampard will take charge at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League for the first time on Sunday when Chelsea face Leicester City, with the Blues still looking for their first win of the season, after losing out on penalties against Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday night.
