Frank Lampard fears Chelsea's youthful squad could hold them back under new boss Enzo Maresca after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Blues were at their scintillating best in a 6-0 win over Wolves last weekend but were brought back down to earth in midweek after a 2-1 loss to Servette in the Europa Conference League.
Another inconsistent display followed at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as Maresca's side surged ahead through Nicolas Jackson but were pinned back and forced to settle for a point after Eberechi Eze's second-half strike.
With a new manager and plenty of fresh signings still to blood into the team, Lampard urged caution from fans, insisting those factors and the squad's youthful make-up will lead to inconsistent performances.
'Inconsistency will be there - young players bring that,' the former Chelsea midfielder said on Match of the Day 2.
'If you look at moments in the game where Chelsea are on top, maybe they aren't clinical enough and then you can always feel the game can swing on them.
'You do wonder if that bit of experience through the spine of the team isn't there and you'll have to wait for that but there's certainly a lot of talent in there.'
Despite that, however, Lampard remained optimistic in the direction of travel under Maresca and believes the club have turned a corner from the negative atmosphere that was all-encompassing during his ill-fated second stint in the dugout.
'In terms of where they are at, Maresca mentioned today that they aren't the same team that won the Champions League and he is right,' Lampard added.
'I was there 18 months ago and at that point, it was a really low point from my point of view because it didn't feel like the club that it had been which was so successful for 20 years.
'A lot of that was the environment and getting that right. I feel like they are on an upward curve but there will be good days and bad days because of the squad.
'But there is a lot of talent and if they can keep improving, especially at the top end of the pitch, they can give teams a lot of problems.'
Chelsea will look to get back to winning ways after the international break when they travel down to the south coast to take on Bournemouth.
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