Frank Lampard had a tough task on his hands when he took over as Chelsea boss in July.

But less than four months on, he's exceeding all early expectations. 

The Blues are fourth in the Premier League, just two points behind second-place Manchester City. 

Perhaps even more impressively, Chelsea are top of their Champions League group after an impressive victory against Ajax - their sixth win in a row.  

Very few would have predicted that when the club were handed a transfer ban and lost Eden Hazard over the summer. 

But according to pundit Robbie Savage, Lampard has his Chelsea team playing better football WITHOUT their former star man. 

"Frank Lampard is doing what nobody thought was possible – he is making Chelsea better to watch without Eden Hazard," Savage wrote for the Mirror.

"When Lampard took over in the summer, under a transfer embargo and after Hazard's £100 million move to Real Madrid, the popular consensus was that Chelsea would struggle to finish in the top four. 

"But he has already turned them into the most watchable side in the Premier League behind Liverpool and Manchester City." 

On top of that praise, Savage also claimed Lampard is turning his side into everyone's second-favourite team. 

"Lampard is in danger of turning Chelsea into everybody's second-favourite team - like Leicester four years ago - by promoting the virtues of youth." 

There will be plenty of football fans who will disagree with Savage's statement, but it's hard to not respect what Lampard has achieved so early on in his career as Chelsea manager.  

He's got a team full of youngsters playing top-class football and they will only improve as time goes on. 

Next up, it's a tough away trip to Burnley and if Lampard's side can come through that with a win, then few will be able to doubt his impressive impact.