Frank Lampard insists Carlo Ancelotti can lead Chelsea to their first Barclays Premier League title triumph since Jose Mourinho's reign.

Chelsea last claimed the league title in 2006 and since Mourinho quit in September 2007, they have undergone numerous managerial changes.

Avram Grant, caretaker Ray Wilkins, Luiz Felipe Scolari, and Guus Hiddink all had a stint in the chair before the summer arrival of Ancelotti from AC Milan.

The Italian coach brought in a new system at the start of the season and Chelsea soared to the top of the table.

The Blues stumbled during December, with just one league win in five games, but Ancelotti has now tweaked his system from a diamond to 4-3-3 and Chelsea have turned the corner.

A 5-0 FA Cup third round victory over Watford was followed by a 7-2 drubbing of Sunderland last weekend.

Now the England midfielder maintains the change from interim coach Hiddink to Ancelotti has been seamless and he is confident it can lead to a title success.

"Ancelotti and Hiddink are similar," said Lampard. "They are very easy to work for. Ancelotti is very relaxed around the training ground and on match days even.

"They are both very tactically aware and very enjoyable to work for. The transition has been seamless.

"He has changed the formation and the way we play, but the way he has worked with the players has left everyone comfortable and, with the squad we have, if everyone is comfortable then we are going to play our best football.

"We are confident of winning the title but we are realists. We know that if we lose the standards that we have at the moment then we could lose everything."

Chelsea remain one point clear of nearest challengers Manchester United with a game in hand.

But, while the Blues have beaten their top-four rivals so far this season, they have struggled to overcome some of the league's lesser sides.

That is something Chelsea cannot afford to let happen as they look to stay ahead of the pack in the second half of the season.

"But we believe in ourselves, we have the right attitude and if we continue to play as we did against Sunderland then we have a very good chance of winning the league," added Lampard.

"Beating the top teams is what has kept us at the top this season but we have to make sure that we just keep beating the mid-table teams as well."

Meanwhile, Chelsea are not expected to make a compensation claim against the Ghanaian FA for Michael Essien's knee injury.

The player's wages are around £120,000-a-week and Chelsea could have demanded a compensation package while he is out of action.

Essien is due back at Chelsea tomorrow so that the club's medical staff can assess the medial ligament injury he sustained in training last Sunday.