Chelsea's interim head coach Frank Lampard insisted that he 'was under no illusions' as to the difficulty of the job he has taken on, after his first two games back with the Blues ended in defeat.
He began his second spell in charge of the club last weekend with a 1-0 away loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers, before facing European royalty in the form of Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, where they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat.
Despite the tough start, the 44-year-old maintained that he was aware of the challenges, when he took the job, especially given the hurried circumstances surrounding his appointment a week ago.
"It’s the task I thought it would be," Lampard said. "I didn't know the detail but I’m an avid watcher of Chelsea even before working here so I had an understanding from the outside as a football person.
"Then when you come you try not to prejudge, and you’ve got to see what’s in front of you when you get the job. I was under no illusions that firstly we came in very quickly to a game after a day’s training and then a quarter final of the Champions League, and some really tough games to come in the Premier League.
"[It's] a tough run, but I like the challenge of that. Those are the challenges I expected and I'll hit them head on."
Although no more demanding than he expected, Lampard did concede that the packed fixture list, with midweek games right from the start, has not been particularly helpful when it comes to preparing his side.
He has had relatively few days with the squad at the club's training ground in Cobham since his arrival, meaning that, "in the tight turnaround the work on the training pitch is not there."
Lampard continued: "You can’t work the players physically when you play three games in six days. So we’re just trying to put the message across about what we want to be and how we want to play.
"But at the moment where games are coming thick and fast, for every game it’s about how can we make the best of that. Now there are general things that I see straight away that I want to work on and improve - physical capacity, to be aggressive in our game.
"The first thing to affect is absolutely performance and hope that results follow that."
The visit of Brighton & Hove Albion will be Lampard's first game back in the dugout at home in front of the Chelsea supporters, with his popularity amongst the fanbase an ever-present given his time in west London as a player.
However, the club's record goalscorer was keen not to get caught up in the occasion, as although he admitted that it was an 'honour' to be in charge, he would have his 'serious face on', given the calibre of opponent they are set to face.
Roberto De Zerbi's side sit seven points above Chelsea and are very much in the fight for a top four place still, and whilst that is partly a reflection on the Blues' poor season themselves, Lampard expressed his admiration for the way Seagulls have performed this season.
"[They are] really good. I think it impresses everybody. It’s a certain style, an identity. They're a really good team offensively and defensively.
"I certainly understand and I think everyone should understand that this is a really tough game for us, falling in between two Madrid games.
"It’s a very tough match and we’ll need to be somewhat towards our best and we’ll have to physically compete with Brighton with the way they play."
Selections based on merit
There have been some questions over the decision-making at the top of the club recently, with co-controlling owner Todd Boehly criticised by some for his seemingly inconsistent choices with regards to either a long-term project or short-term success.
Whatever may be being discussed on the outside, Lampard remained a staunch supporter of the ownership, saying he has 'been impressed' based on what he has seen and heard from the board.
"They have a clear vision, and people working within the club have a clear vision of where we want to get to," he claimed. "I’m very impressed with the really strong intentions and involvement.
"I think collaboration and talking and working forward to try and get somewhere is really important in the modern day. I think things have to be and should be aligned from top to bottom and that comes with communication, and there’s certainly a lot of that, so I’ve been very impressed with that.
"There has to also be an understanding that this is a long-term project and idea. As I’ve said before, there may be difficult steps in that process, and the important thing then is that us and people at the club work really hard to keep going in the right direction. I get that feeling from the top of the club."
Finally, there was a hint on potential team news for Saturday afternoon's Premier League matchup, with changes expected given the aforementioned hectic schedule.
Kalidou Koulibaly will miss 'weeks' with a hamstring injury, but when asked whether players who had yet to be given a chance under his tenure might feature, Lampard was surprisingly open on the suggestion.
"Yes, but they can't all play - the maths doesn’t work as such. I think over the period I'm here, firstly I want to win football matches because we’re Chelsea and that’s obviously going to be what is expected of us, firstly from ourselves but also from our fans.
"Then secondly I want to be part of a process in this period where players have an opportunity. If they train, if they deserve to play, they get an opportunity on the pitch and they show what they can do.
"So tomorrow will be an opportunity for some players who didn't play in the Champions League, possibly didn't play at the weekend to come in, because it’s a game where we absolutely need freshness and energy as well."