Former midfielder Michael Ballack has claimed that Frank Lampard has all of the attributes required to build on his early success at Chelsea.
Despite an inconsistent start to the campaign, Lampard watched the Blues record seven successive wins in all competitions before Wednesday's EFL Cup defeat to Manchester United.
Ballack, an ex-teammate of the Chelsea legend, suggests that he has not been surprised by how Lampard has started his stint in the dugout at Stamford Bridge.
The German is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying: "No, not really, because if you are talented - if you know football and if you are a really hard worker, which he was always as a player - I could imagine he's the same as a coach, and obviously he is.
"I think he likes to prepare well before a game and that's really important as a manager, to have that talent to actually prepare things and not thinking you know the game and that's it.
"I think managing is much more than understanding football. It's a lot about preparing and also dealing with human beings in a certain way and this is a process, and even when he's just starting that process, he's already doing that on a high, high level, and I think he can be a very good manager."
Between 2006 and 2010, Ballack made 168 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions.
Darren Plant
