Football news - Frank Lampard: Chelsea must forge own path to catch Liverpool and Manchester City

City have won the last two titles, becoming the first-ever team to break the 100-point barrier in 2017-18, before needing a tally of 98 points the following season to edge out Jurgen Klopp's side by a solitary point.

Liverpool have set new standards of excellent this term, dropping just five points in their 29 matches prior to the suspension of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Lampard insists that he will forge his own path to bridge the gap.

"I don't want to jump the gun because what Liverpool and Manchester City have done has been clear; I'd be a fool to suggest we can bridge that gap quickly because there has been a lot of hard work at those clubs in terms of recruitment of top players, of great coaches," he told Sky Sports.

"We have to be part of that process. We have to do it our way, we can't try to copy. We have had experienced players around this year to help the youngsters but we know there are little areas within the squad… some of that's what we have on the ground here already, some of that is how we might look to recruit.

"What's going on in the world has made it very difficult to plan on that front. But going into this break I certainly felt we were moving in the right direction and with continued progress and work on the training ground, as well as potentially bringing in some players in key areas to try and help us bridge that gap, yes, I've got a strong belief that we can [challenge]."

Lampard has been in charge at Stamford Bridge since last summer and has admitted that he has made some mistakes on the way but says he is roundly happy with progress in his first season.

"I'm always the first to criticise myself and look at what we could have done better. I'm pretty happy with where we are in fourth.

"It was always going to be a difficult, competitive year for us to be in and around that top four and we're there at the moment.

"How can we progress from here? We have youth; we've been searching at times for consistency, which I think can happen with a young team.

"I'm pretty happy with where we're at but I want a lot more. As a manager, you're never ready to settle."