Chelsea's start to life under Frank Lampard has reflected the transitional nature of a club operating under a new template with an inexperienced manager, an influx of young players and a transfer ban.

Lampard has had mixed fortunes, combining impressive away wins at Norwich and Wolves with struggles at home, including a damaging defeat by Valencia in their opening Champions League game on Tuesday.

As the Blues prepare for Sunday's Premier League home fixture against leaders Liverpool, who have a 100% record, what are the club's targets in this unfamiliar territory and how are they reshaping under club legend Lampard?

What are Chelsea's expectations?

Chelsea's managers are always given the same brief - get towards the end of the season in contention for the major trophies and the Champions League places.

And this year, irrespective of Lampard's relative inexperience and a transition accelerated by the transfer ban, this will be the aim again.

Chelsea may be in transition but owner Roman Abramovich is not lowering his sights. In financial terms, the club cannot afford to.

The difference between Champions League and Europa League football is about £60m at the bottom line, doubly important for a club whose Stamford Bridge capacity of 41,000 and its resultant revenue is outstripped by attendances at each of the other 'big six' clubs - Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool, as well as West Ham and Newcastle.

Lampard knows the demands and embraces them. Abramovich is desperate for him to succeed but will not be over-sentimental.

He is the 13th manager Abramovich has appointed since he bought Chelsea in July 2003, with reigns lasting from 1,205 days for Jose Mourinho's first spell to 223 for Luiz Felipe Scolari in 2008.

There is an understanding among the club and its supporters that this is currently a different type of Chelsea and the level of goodwill and patience Lampard is being given was exemplified by the relatively warm reception they received from the home fans after losing to Valencia.

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin believes the club and supporters realise the parameters have changed.

"I do think it will be different this season and the club and the fans will understand that," he said.

"They have lost their best player in Eden Hazard, they are not able to buy anyone else, they have a lot of young players, a young new manager and on top of all of that they want to change the style of play completely - five things that are radical and not all necessarily helpful.

"Frank will get far more leash - 100%. There is an acceptance and understanding of that. Walking out of the game on Tuesday, having lost at home in the Champions League, people were shrugging their shoulders and the reception was warm."

This is Chelsea and for all the talk of understanding and patience, ambition is as high as ever.

Lampard knew it as a player and does as a manager.

Why Abramovich backs Lampard to succeed

Chelsea recognised that appointing 41-year-old Lampard - after only one season in management which ended in a Championship play-off final defeat for Derby - carried some risk.

This was, of course, a club that had a supposedly "disappointing" season under Maurizio Sarri that ended with a return to the Champions League, a Europa League triumph and an appearance in the Carabao Cup final.

It was, however, a loveless arrangement on both sides, and part of the point of Lampard's return is forging a reconnection between club and supporters.

Owner Abramovich felt this was a bold choice that could reap rewards. It was an appointment arguably made earlier than was ideal but he still felt the time was right.

And in coming to his decision, Abramovich called on memories of what he witnessed from Lampard in his playing years at Chelsea, where he won 11 major trophies in 13 years and was the club's record goalscorer with 211 goals.

It was all part of the equation as Abramovich considered Chelsea's future.

He remembered the personality who never gave him any cause to doubt his commitment to Chelsea, whose relentless work ethic was exemplary. The Russian expected Lampard to lead in the strongest of dressing rooms and witnessed him do exactly that for years.

It is a stretch to suggest Lampard forged a close personal relationship with the Russian as a player but he was seen as an outstanding influence, someone Chelsea's owner could lean on and someone who demonstrated rich promise as a coach and wore the burden of management comfortably at Derby.

This all made him Abramovich's man.

Bumps in the road are expected, as against Valencia, but Abramovich and his key decision-making colleagues, such as director Marina Granovskaia, are working with renewed commitment to make this appointment work.

The word is that in every department at Chelsea, there is a reinvigorated atmosphere because there is so much desire to see Lampard succeed.

Lampard is in daily contact with Granovskaia, as well as Petr Cech after his appointment as technical and performance advisor, and all the noises coming out of Stamford Bridge tell of a renewed sense of purpose.

Lampard's high-intensity gameplan

Lampard's mantra for his new Chelsea is high-intensity football - and those who have witnessed the sessions put on at the club's Cobham training base confirm this is reflected on a daily basis.

Gone are the days under his Italian predecessors Antonio Conte and Sarri when defenders would be hanging on to mannequins on the training pitch waiting for strikers to finish 10-minute drills before being brought in for their work.

Chelsea's players have found the work fast-paced and energetic, with only very short breaks between drills, before moving on to the next aspect of the session. Some observers liken it to a HIT (high-intensity training) workout.

And while Lampard is hands-on in dictating what will be done, the players are passed through his coaching staff in turn, working with Jody Morris, Chris Jones, Joe Edwards and Eddie Newton, all under the manager's supervision.

The laughter is also said to have returned to Cobham, but at the heart of it all is very serious business as Chelsea's players are shifted around quickly from function to function to achieve the tempo Lampard will be demanding to match Liverpool's pressing style on Sunday.