And while Lampard has always insisted that a title challenge was unlikely this season, his team’s collapse in recent weeks has seen the pressure mount.
This all contrasts sharply with the start of December, when victory over Leeds extended their unbeaten 16 games and brought them to the top of the table.
Lampard said: “I was expecting some difficult times this year. I said that when we beat Leeds and everyone was defending us to claim the title. I know it is not that simple.
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“I know where we are. Whether it puts pressure on me or not, it doesn’t matter.
“A month ago, everyone was asking me if I would sign a new contract. Now people are going to say different things because in quick succession, in a tight and busy period, we have lost four football games.
“So the pressure remains constant in this job and you know in the tough times that will be there. I did not go into this job without knowing it. My job is to keep working. ”
While Lampard is adamant he is at the start of a rebuilding process, the £ 220million he has been allowed to spend on top-notch rookies ahead of this season means expectations have risen.
And working under one of the most demanding owners in world football only adds to the pressure on his shoulders.
(PA)
Following this latest loss, he was careful not to speak for Roman Abramovich when discussing his future.
“At the minute we are in a difficult time,” he said. “I understand that because I played here for a long time. I understand that the minute you lose a few games in a short period of time, everyone is watching and asking questions.
“Then everyone looks at it differently and says you spent so much money. Well, the reality is that a lot of the players who have arrived are young, new, have been injured and have not played together before.
“The expectations after Leeds that we were title contenders were not real. I’m real now in saying that the club have to take the pain where we want to go.
“Any construction or rebuilding that we have with the players we brought in is painful. It means pain on the pitch, pain behind the scenes, combat and character. This is how you build.
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“I’m not going to speak for the people above me because I can never do that. This is why I was unable to respond a month ago about obtaining a new contract. I can’t answer what they’re thinking about now, but it is.
“I can only talk about it as I see it and when I look at City today, for the first 45 minutes, I can see the level of the players, the level of work.
“There will never be an absolute trajectory that rises and falls constantly. So maybe we had 16 unbeaten games, great, I saw flaws again. When we have lost four games in a row I see flaws and they are much more obvious to everyone.
“It’s my job to focus on their work, not what they think, it would distract me and I can’t do it.
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