Frank Lampard praised Erik ten Hag's approach to discipline as being a major factor behind Manchester United's rise under the Dutchman this season.
Lampard has endured a torrid time at Chelsea since returning to the club and he will soon hand over the baton to a new manager, with Mauricio Pochettino expected to be appointed, to try and bring about an improvement next season.
Whoever that is might be able to take some heart from United's rise under Ten Hag. They need one more win to secure a third-place finish in the Premier League just a year after ending last season disastrously.
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The 53-year-old has raised the fortunes at the club this season and if they do beat Fulham in their final game of the season then they will secure their second-highest points tally since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement 10 years ago.
Lampard was asked whether the next Chelsea boss could take inspiration from the turnaround Ten Hag has engineered at Old Trafford and while he was reluctant to compare the clubs, he did point to Ten Hag's approach to discipline and standards as being vital.
The United manager has taken action against Alejandro Garnacho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford at times this season and Lampard believes the approach has helped raise standards at the club.
"I think it is really hard to compare, really tough, it is not for me to analyse where Manchester United are and where they were," he said.
"They have got fantastic players, [Marcus] Rashford scored 30 goals, [Raphael] Varane, [Bruno] Fernandes, bring Casemiro in. There are a lot of factors so you be optimistic, we should look for plusses but I don’t think it is one to compare because every situation is different and we have to go step by step to look at the big picture.
"I am not taking anything away from the job Erik has done but there has to be basics, there has to be fundamentals. I remember when Ten Hag first came people were talking about discipline and fines and setting the standard. Those things are where this club has had a positive upturn."
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