Jose Mourinho believes that Frank Lampard is under less pressure to succeed at Chelsea than his predecessors due to the impact that Fifa's transfer ban has had on the club.
Lampard takes charge of Chelsea for the first time in a competitive fixture on Sunday afternoon as the Blues face Manchester United at Old Trafford in their Premier League opener.
Chelsea were unable to add to their squad this summer due to Fifa imposing a transfer ban on the club regarding their signing of foreign under-18 players.
Chelsea appealed Fifa's punishment, but their appeal was rejected - and the Blues will have to wait until January 2020 to add to their squad.
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Christian Pulisic joined Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund this summer, though that deal had already been confirmed in January.
With Eden Hazard and David Luiz departing for Real Madrid and Arsenal respectively, Lampard - who returned to Stamford Bridge as manager this summer - looks set to put his trust in a number of the club's promising youth players.
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For that reason, Mourinho - who has been sacked twice by Chelsea - does not expect his former player to face the same pressures as several of his predecessors.
"In this moment, with the transfer ban, that releases the pressure," he told Sky Sports in his new role as a pundit. "They have a very good squad of course. I am very curious to see the direction Frank is going to go.
"Today, does (Olivier) Giroud or Tammy Abraham play? If Tammy Abraham plays and Chelsea doesn't win, people can go in the direction of the younger players, they need time, they are not playing to win the Premier League.
"You don't buy players but you buy time."
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