MY ACCOUNT
Frank Lampard insisted Everton are not in a “crisis” despite the Toffees sitting just a point above the relegation zone in the Premier League.
Everton were hammered 5-0 at Tottenham last time out as they fell to a 14th defeat in their last 18 top-flight games, leaving them in 17th with just 22 points after 25 games.
That is their lowest points tally at this stage of a top-flight season in the club’s history, with Lampard’s side heading into a crucial phase of the relegation battle.
Lampard has been keen to stress the importance of Everton’s form at Goodison Park, but no team has lost more Premier League home games than the Toffees (13) since a 2-1 loss to West Ham at the start of 2021.
Ahead of hosting Wolves on Sunday, Lampard stressed his team’s struggles are commonplace in football as he downplayed any suggestions of turmoil.
“It’s not a crisis. It’s very normal and I did have bad ones [in the past]. I don’t need to name them, but I had some bad personal ones, team ones,” Lampard responded when asked about the situation at Everton.
“That happens in football and in the position that we’re in. I didn’t think we’d win 15 on the bounce and get into the Europa League positions.
“You have to be very candid with the players, and they should want that because nobody liked Monday night [against Spurs]. I had them as a player.”
Everton have lost their last three Premier League matches by an aggregate score of 8-0. They last had a longer run of consecutive league defeats without scoring a single goal between August and October 2005 (6), but Lampard remains optimistic.
“The message from my point of view is I’m very much ready for the fight and the challenge. Nothing has surprised me since coming in,” he said.
“We appreciate the support, I remain very optimistic and confident, but the reality is we need results.”
Lampard was also asked about his relationship with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who was sanctioned by the British government following Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
However, the 43-year-old revealed he did not often communicate with Abramovich, despite playing over 400 times for Chelsea and managing the club between 2019 and 2021.
“I can probably count on one hand how many times I’ve seen him in the last however many years,” Lampard said of Abramovich.
“I worked for Chelsea, which was an absolute pleasure, for 13 years and that’s exactly where I want to leave that one.”
