Roy Keane fears there will be little room for patience when it comes to Frank Lampard and Chelsea this season.
The Blues are going through something of a sticky patch, having taken only four points from their past five Premier League matches - winning one, drawing one and losing three.
Chelsea were sixth in the table going into Sunday's clash with Manchester City at Stamford Bridge - seven points behind leaders Liverpool and Manchester United.
Lampard guided the team to a top-four finish last season to secure Champions League qualification.
But expectations are higher this term after the club spent more than £200million on new players during the summer transfer window.
“It’s a strange one," United legend Keane told Sky Sports. "I think Frank always comes across well, he’s a pretty honest guy.
"He speaks about patience but I didn’t realise the word patience existed at Chelsea, particularly with managers.
"They’ve changed managers who have had success there, so I don’t think Frank is going to get that much time.
"I think there’s huge pressure this year because of the money they’ve spent."
Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Thiago Silva, Kai Havertz, Edouard Mendy and Malang Sarr were signed in the summer, along with England international Ben Chilwell.
"I agree that you have to give these new players time to settle in. Most of these signings have come from foreign countries and it takes time," Keane added.
"It’s a strange time, we’re talking about where Chelsea are, but if they win today they go back in the top four.
"Last year, they had a bit of a free hit because of the transfer ban and now they’ve spent.
"No matter what, when you spend that type of money, it brings added pressure - no matter who the manager is.
"Keep their heads, stay strong, get that spark back in the team. They’ve had injury problems, try and settle the team, but every team has injury problems.
"The words I’ve read recently from him was about the desire from the team. Now that is a worry because they have quality in their squad, but when you start questioning the desire and work-rate, and the basics of the game, if you don’t do those things; no matter how good of a team you are, you’re going to slip up.”
Keane believes Lampard has his work cut out against rivals managers and coaches such as Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool), Pep Guardiola (Man City) and Carlo Ancelotti (Everton).
“If you look at Frank’s situation, coming into management, he’s new to it," said the former Republic of Ireland midfielder. "He’s 42 years of age and we’re comparing Klopp.
"Remember Klopp came from Dortmund and won big prizes over there.
"I know that’s the name of the game, the Ancelottis in the world, the Mourinhos, Pep - he’s up against all these managers and we’re saying he needs patience and time, but these lads have got a CV behind them, they’ve won the big prizes.
"He won’t get the time Klopp got.”
