Frank Lampard is skating on increasingly thin ice following Chelsea's 3-1 defeat to Manchester City.

Following the club's fourth loss in six games, The Athletic suggested the board had already begun looking at alternatives.

The former England midfielder was a popular appointment when he took the job at the start of last season.

He'd done reasonably well with Derby - though failing to win the Rams promotion from the Championship - and there are few young coaches who understand Chelsea's identity better.

Lampard will always be loved by the fans, but he has less than three years' experience and even after being given over £200m to spend, he hasn't got the best out of big-money signings like Kai Havertz and Timo Werner. 

That might be excusable if the stats were a little more flattering - but he now has the lowest points-per-game tally of any manager of the Roman Abramovich era. 

It all points to the 42-year-old receiving an ominous phone call from the billionaire unless he can turn results around quickly. 

In hindsight, opting for a Stamford Bridge legend, especially so early in his career, was probably an error. 

That hasn't changed Abramovich's strategy, however, as he might opt for another former Chelsea player to replace him - at least according to reports in France. 

Le10Sport claim Andriy Shevchenko is being considered as the Blues' next boss, though the Premier League side are still exploring a few different avenues. 

Why Shevchenko? 

Now, on paper, this sounds like another strange move. On the one hand, the former striker would at least not be given the job on the merits of his playing achievements in west London, as he endured a pretty torrid time there after leaving AC Milan - scoring just nine league goals. 

Yet in his four years as a coach, the 44-year-old has done a very good job with the Ukraine national side.

He took the role after their disappointing campaign at Euro 2016 and ensured they went unbeaten in qualifying for Euro 2020. They even finished ahead of Portugal in Group B. 

There is also a personal link between the Champions League winner and Abramovich. Their friendship played a major part in bringing him to England as a player in 2006. On top of that, the second of his four sons, Kristian, plays for the Academy having been born in London during his father's stint at Cobham. 

Whether Shevchenko is the man to take them forward or not, it can't be good news for Lampard that his successor is already being eyed up.