Frank Lampard has spoken of his delight at the improvement in the atmosphere at Chelsea since the appointment of Roberto Di Matteo as interim manager at Stamford Bridge.
Di Matteo, 41, replaced Andre Villas-Boas at the helm after a bad run of results saw the early departure of the Portuguese boss.
It was known that during Villas-Boas' reign, Lampard was among those players who felt alienated, and he was regularly benched. Di Matteo also left Lampard on the bench for the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Benfica, but the midfielder feels happier with the way the situation was handled.
Asked if Di Matteo had taken a different approach to Villas-Boas, Lampard told BBC Radio Five Live: "Yes, that is fair to say. I spoke with Robbie and certainly had no issue with it. I was delighted to get the result we got. I came on in the last 20 minutes, anyway.''
Di Matteo was reportedly not liked any more than Villas-Boas by the Chelsea squad while he was working as the Portuguese's assistant, but players have been queuing up to hail the former Blues midfielder for the way he has transformed their season and the fairness he has shown to each individual.
Lampard said: "The number one makes the decisions and he is revelling in making those decisions.
"He has kept it very simple. It's a case of getting a confidence and passion through the team and, in the results we've had, you'd say he has done that.''
Villas-Boas had seemed determined to undertake a mass cull of older players at Stamford Bridge and, asked if he had tried to change too much too soon, Lampard said: "It's hard to pinpoint things. I don't want to go too much over negatives.
"We didn't perform to a level, that's why the manager changed and us, as players, are not happy because you don't feel as proud as you should be when you know the squad we've got should be doing better.
"So the reasons are not quite clear but there's a lot to be said for having a confident squad.
"You have to have that to get the best out of all your players and I feel we are in a better position now than we were in the past.''
Di Matteo could decide to rest Lampard again for Wednesday's Champions League return match with Benfica, while Chelsea will continue to monitor the injured David Luiz (ankle) and Didier Drogba (foot).
