BBC pundit Alan Shearer has praised Chelsea manager Frank Lampard for guiding his team to a strong start to the Premier League season.

The Blues boss had spent heavily in the summer, leading to some pundits to predict that they could compete for the title, but Shearer thinks Lampard has more than met expectations so far:

“They are third in the Premier League, only two points off the top, and are joint-highest scorers. Things are coming together nicely for them, and Lampard deserves a lot of credit for that. At the beginning of this season, expectations were very different because they spent so big in the summer and there is probably more pressure on Lampard. So far, though, he has delivered.”

“There is still so much that Frank wants to achieve – and win – at Chelsea, but he has made a very strong start. He has not given anyone any reason to doubt him as manager – far from it, in fact.”

It is not easy integrating six new signings at the same time and, while there were some teething problems in the first month, Lampard has managed to gel together his team pretty quickly, which is testament to his management skills.

Of course, there is a long way to go this season but the depth of Chelsea’s squad means they should be able to meet any challenges they face in a packed fixture schedule over the coming months.

As Shearer says, Lampard will want more than a strong start from his team but everything seems to be moving in the right direction.