Chelsea Manager Frank Lampard says it's easier to be a player than a manager

Frank Lampard has brought in a new mentality since he was named Manager of the Blues. If you recall that Lampard replaced Maurizio Sarri who was sacked after one season with Chelsea, winning the Europa League.

42 years old Frank Lampard looks like he has been given free hand at the Stamford Bridge following his team selection and transfer recruits. 

The Blues manager has completed a summer spending spree with likes of Timo Werner from RB Leipzig, Hakim Ziyech from Ajax, Ben Chilwell from Leicester, Edouard Mendy from Rennes, Kai Havertz joined from Bayern Leverkusen. 

Lampard completed his deals as he brought in Thiago Silva who might be aged but has the experience to hold the back given the squad being a youthful side. 

At the moment, the Blues are on a good run of wins with Mendy being solid in goal as he kept some clean sheets. 

Despite these results, Frank Lampard believes being a manager is more difficult than being a player.

"The life of a player is a bubble of selfishness to a degree," he told BBC Sport. "The facts and reality is I realise now it's much harder than playing in terms of it being consuming.

"The life of a manager is 25 people in the squad, staff in the building, problems with different departments. It's so far removed from football." 

If you recall that Lampard had a successful 13-year career at Chelsea as he became the club's all-time record goalscorer, despite being a midfielder.

He joined Chelsea after spell at  West Ham in 2001. Lampard won 13 trophies including three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and the Champions League with Chelsea. 

He added: "When you work for your coaching badges, you have to put time in. Then when you start doing it, you have to practise, you have to fail, get better, fail and have relationships with people you never had as a player.

"Players can easily sit there and say they want to be a manager, then they start the road and say: 'Actually, I want to be a pundit.' I respect it because being a pundit is tough as well but in terms of management I wanted to test the water."

After he left Lampard in 2014, he joined New York City in the MLS where he also returned to the Premier League for few months on loan at Manchester City. 

He announced his retirement from the game in February 2017.

He continued: "A manager gets 50 problems a day. It's much more consuming but I love it and couldn't live without it."

"I can be really open that it helped me get the job - playing 13 years at the club helped me get the job. 

"I had to put my ego at the door a bit and say that I might ruin what I achieved in 13 years to a degree - because if it doesn't go well, I will be judged harshly and quickly." 

Frank Lampard, 42, got his first managerial in the Championship with Derby County. He guided the Rams to a sixth-place Championship finish in his first season at Pride Park. 

He was named Manager of Chelsea last season and he went ahead to finish in fourth place in his first season. 

Lampard concluded: "I am so driven personally that my biggest fear is myself. If I try to pull the wool over your eyes as Chelsea manager, it's not going to work.

"My football career put me in a decent position. So if that job is taken away from me, as long as I go in thinking 'can I do the best job?' then I think that if I have done the best I can, I will be pretty happy."