Had to try and change’: Frank Lampard shares what he really didn’t like when he joined Everton
Frank Lampard has revealed what he really wanted to change when he joined Everton.
Speaking on Monday Night Football, the former Toffees manager opened up on his arrival at Goodison Park and spoke of the club’s ‘consigned’ attitude to relegation.
Prior to Lampard’s arrival in January 2022, Everton hadn’t finished lower than 12th place in the Premier League in 18 years.
However, the 45-year-old joined Everton when they were only four points above the bottom three with 18 games left of the campaign. Despite this only being the start of the club’s downfall, Lampard admitted that there was a lot of negativity around Merseyside regarding the Toffees’ future in the top flight.
“The amount of Everton fans who work behind the scenes, the kit men, the people there – everybody there is Everton,” Lampard told Sky Sports.
“It’s almost like there is a good and a bad to that. The great is that they live it and they love it and they are so desperate for the club because they feel it. But there was also that thing where they were like ‘oh we’ve been here before, this is going to be a tough season’, you know that cynicism sometimes. I do it as a fan.
“I was surprised by the degree of that, I’m not talking about the fans, but I was surprised by the degree of being consigned to relegation. It was a desperation almost running throughout the club. That was the thing I felt I had to try and change the most. I had quite a few meetings with players and staff where I said we have got to lose this.”
Lampard eventually guided Everton to safety as they retained their 68-year Premier League status with only one game remaining of the season. However, he endured the same difficulties the following year and was eventually sacked a year after his arrival.
Everton fans just expect a relegation battle now
While the Toffees hadn’t actually battled for relegation in a very long time before the 2021-22 campaign, things had looked like they were on the decline for a while.
The fans had been forced to put up with terrible transfers and underwhelming ownership for a while and it was only a matter of time before things took a turn for the worst.
Frank Lampard arguably isn’t a man fit to take charge in the Premier League, but he was just one of the unfortunate ones in the firing line at Finch Farm.
There will be the same atmosphere and the same quickly departing managers until things drastically change at Everton – though it is yet to be seen whether their upcoming takeover is what will make the difference.
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