Frank Lampard has returned to Stamford Bridge and will soon undertake the task of picking a team to face Wolves at the weekend. After getting through his media duties, the caretaker boss was able to meet with his team on Thursday and watch over his first session with Chelsea's stars.
Of course, it's not the first time that Lampard has worked with much of the squad and the former Chelsea midfielder intends to rely on his knowledge to get to a quick start at Molineux. The 44-year-old even admitted he was considering his plans for the fixture before taking his first training session.
"I'm confident in myself," said Lampard, "I have a good understanding of the squad, of course I've worked with a lot of them before, but also the training ground, the stadium, the fans, what Chelsea fans want and I'll do my utmost in this period to give them what they want with my own hard work."
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With only two days of work for any player to change change Lampard's perception, it appears the returning coach will rely on what he already knows to take the team into the clash with Wolves. In the early days of Lampard's tenure that could lead to some winners and losers. football.london takes a look at who they may be.
Winners
Mason Mount - In his first press conference back, Lampard made no secret of his strong relationship with Mount. The England international has had a difficult 2022/23 season that has proved more difficult with injuries along the way.
Lampard said: "I know what I get from Mason, so I just want to see him perform on the pitch. We have a good relationship so we'll talk a lot, I think he's a huge player for Chelsea and has been in his time here, so I look forward to talking to him more.
"Mason has always been a fantastic player for me from my days at Derby, the impact he had there to when I came back to Chelsea. It's with absolute pleasure that I've watched him amongst others that I coached in that period, Reece James, Tammy Abraham and [Fikayo] Tomori to have gone on to be huge players here or elsewhere.
"That's great but with Mason I know he's had a few slight injury problems, so I understand, it will be important to speak to him. I know what I get from Mason, so I just want to see him perform on the pitch. We have a good relationship so we'll talk a lot, I think he's a huge player for Chelsea and has been in his time here, so I look forward to talking to him more."
It does not appear it will be long before a system is chosen in which Mount will be prominent even with the competition in the squad.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - The former Arsenal striker perhaps could not see things get much worse at Chelsea. He is unavailable for selection in the Champions League and has not featured in Chelsea's last four Premier League squads. Lampard has already acknowledged Chelsea's goalscoring problem, and given he hoped to sign Aubameyang in his last stint with the club, the Blues legend could be tempted to see if he could capitalise on the more natural instincts of the striker in league football before the end of the season.
Likewise, players such as Christian Pulisic, who enjoyed his best Blues form under Lampard, and Hakim Ziyech, may find more promising roles under their new boss in a new formation. However, Chelsea's manager is also said to have attempted to sign Mykhailo Mudryk in the summer, so competition will be fierce on the wings even if Lampard makes use of a front three.
Conor Gallagher - Lampard had ambitions of signing the Chelsea midfielder while at Everton, suggesting that he'd kept a close eye on the academy product. The Blues staff have plenty of experience of Cobham, which will come as a boost to a number of homegrown players and their opportunities but with Gallagher often being first substitute this term, perhaps he can feature in the starting lineup more often under the new coach.
Losers
Kepa Arrizabalaga - While Kepa has probably done enough to start against Wolves, it's difficult to ignore that Edouard Mendy was signed under Lampard and the Spaniard endured some of his most troubling form under the caretaker manager. It remains to be seen how quickly that preference comes to the fore, if at all, but Kepa knows he will have to convince Lampard of his merits.
Marc Cucurella - Probably the player that Graham Potter was most familiar with at Chelsea but Cucurella may be more severely tested my a looming switch to a back four. That rules out a position on the left of a back three in which the former Brighton star has featured in recent matches and leaves him to compete with an in form Ben Chilwell. That Chilwell was signed under Lampard and favoured during his first spell will leave the 24-year-old with a supreme test.
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