Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has asked critics to back off of Blues star Eden Hazard as the Belgium international struggles to produce his best this season.
Hazard was named the Premier League Player of the Season last campaign as Chelsea rolled to a wire-to-wire league title. Jose Mourinho's men have disappointed throughout the start of 2015-16, with the 24-year-old coming in for much criticism for his failure to provide match-winning performances.
"I love Eden Hazard as a player, I was fortunate enough to play with him, his ability is frightening," Lampard said on Monday.
"I think we forget he's a young boy, he's come onto the scene these last couple of years, he's never had a moment like this in his career.
"He's never had to worry. He's generally played very well, last year he was creating all season, and was the difference for Chelsea to a big extent."
Chelsea have slumped to 15th in the league table, 14 points adrift of leader Manchester City after Saturday's 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho's job security has been a constant question in recent weeks, with reports linking him to a number of jobs away from the London club.
Lampard addressed the situation of his former coach, adding: "I think they should stick with him but results certainly need to change now."
"Chelsea are a unique club. We all know the structure of the club and there's such a desire to win and a pressure. The owner, the board, the directors have taken decisions to win."
The current New York City FC playmaker stressed the need for stability at the club, citing Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson as an example.
"What has been said over the past two or three years the club wants stability and a longer game. How important is stability? If you're getting results I suppose you're not that concerned," Lampard said.
"Manchester United was the ideal with Sir Alex Ferguson being there, the great Liverpool managers of the past again was the perfect ideal.
"I think it makes sense, you want to see a manager staying and a club successful. You want to see young players coming through to the team.
"That's the intriguing thing at the moment to see if they stick with Jose. He has got the best record Chelsea have had as a manager, he's a proven as a world class manager."