Frank Lampard admits that the club’s supporters have every right to boo the team after they suffered a fifth successive defeat to Brentford at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Cesar Azpilicueta’s own goal and Bryan Mbeumo’s late goal gave Chelsea another disappointing loss since Lampard took over for the fired Graham Potter.

Chelsea hasn’t scored in six of their last seven games. They are 11th in the Premier League because of this.

They haven’t won in any competition since March 11, when they beat Leicester. That’s eight games without a win.

Six of those eight games without a win have been at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea fans went crazy when they lost to their west London neighbours Brentford, who have always been below them in the table but are now above them.

“Absolutely the fans are going to be worried. If you’re a Chelsea fan, you’ve been used to 20 years of success, you’re used to it and you want it more,” Lampard said.

“I’ve got no problem with fans booing. I’m not sitting here to go against the fans and say don’t boo the players.”

There are rumours that former Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is close to being hired as the next manager of owner Todd Boehly’s troubled 11-month reign. Lampard is only in charge until the end of the season.

Boehly has already fired Potter and Thomas Tuchel, which threw the team into chaos before Lampard took over for the second time.

Lampard said he had “nothing” more to say about the possibility of Pochettino being hired. He is sure that his players are committed to the cause, even though fans have said they don’t work hard enough.

Facing Chelsea’s first finish outside the top 10 since 1996, Lampard added: “I’ll defend the players because they’re young lads who want to do well. Is there an issue with confidence? Yes. Is there an issue with the balance of the squad? Maybe yes.

“I’m not patronising everybody. When you’re in this moment with a lack of confidence, then it can be difficult to win a game. I’m not exonerating the players, far from it. I’m just supporting them.

“Are we dynamic enough in the final third? No. Have we been for a long time before I came here? No. Those things are not things that are going to turn overnight. We have to keep working.”