The other point to this is, we all accept that players improve over time, yet the same courtesy is rarely afforded to managers. It's pretty obvious that Lampard has learned a lot & become a better manager now than before & he says as much himself.
Brendan Rodgers said the 8 months he had out between the Reading & Swansea jobs were the most important of his career. He was able to properly reflect on what had worked in his previous jobs & what he needed to improve, while studying the new trends in football. He then started playing more progressive possession football ahead of its time at Championship level
I think the year out Lampard had has done wonders for him. He's developed his tactics. He mentioned working with Thomas Frank at Brentford and studying how Villa/Bournemouth build up & press - and you can see these influences in how we're playing