Blues boss Lampard admitted to feeling the "heat" in the wake of Sunday's 3-1 Premier League loss to Manchester City in west London.

Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne fired City into a 3-0 lead in just 35 minutes, with Callum Hudson-Odoi bagging a late consolation for the hosts.

Chelsea have now suffered four defeats in their last six league matches - having earlier gone 16 games unbeaten - but Lampard refused to talk for his bosses over his long-term future.

"I was real after we beat Leeds (3-1 on December 5) saying that we're not title contenders, and I'm real now saying it takes time," Lampard said.

"Any build or rebuild takes pain; pain behind the scenes and pain on the pitch occasionally.

"This is a difficult period and I understand the reasons why. Today the first half showed me the reasons why and we have to keep fighting and I'm the first one who has to keep fighting.

"I'll always feel heat: I felt heat when we were on our good run, because I know that round the corner can be a negative.

"Maybe (N'Golo) Kante you can take out, but when you look around the team, there's a lot of youth, a lot of new players that are trying to come in and settle."

Lampard's team are is only three points behind fifth-placed City but have played two games more and the manner of this defeat will be alarming to notoriously impatient owner Roman Abramovich.

"I'm not going to speak for people above me or the board, it's not for me to do that," Lampard said. "It is what it is on those terms, I can only speak about it as I see it, as a manager and a club.

"When we had 16 games unbeaten I still saw those flaws in our game. When we've lost four games I still see those flaws now."

Australian Associated Press