Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Lampard was RIGHT to call us all out
IWOBI BACKS BOSS AFTER CUP THRASHING OUTBURST
ALEX IWOBI has admitted Frank Lampard was right to question whether his Everton players have got the “b ***** ks” for a relegation fight – and that it is up to them to show they do.
Lampard turned on his team when they were hammered 4-0 by Crystal Palace in the FA Cup after winning just two of his first seven Premier League games at the helm.
He faces the club that launched him on a stellar playing career with his Toffees fully entangled in a relegation scrap.
And ahead of the clash at the London Stadium, midfielder Iwobi revealed the mood in the dressing room is stark.
Iwobi (right) said: “It comes from within us. We know that sometimes we don’t give the fight that we’re capable of giving.
“If we fight, we are capable of competing with anyone in the league. It’s not just the manager saying it – the players agree with his statement.
“It starts in training. If we’re all trying to fight and be the best that we can in training then it transforms into matches.
“But even before Frank came we were saying we had to show more character.”
Iwobi lived in Plaistow after moving to east London with his family from Nigeria at the age of four and could have signed for West Ham before joining Arsenal.
He moved to Goodison Park for £28million in the summer of 2019 but it has been a struggle for the 25-yearold. Everton have parted company with Marco Silva, Carlo Ancelotti (above) and Rafa Benitez in his time at the club.
And with Duncan
EVERTON
Last five in PL: LLLLW Top PL scorer: Gray (5 )
Ferguson having two spells as caretaker boss, it means he has now been managed by five different bosses.
Iwobi added: “It is difficult but we’re professional players and we should have the mentality to cope. “The one thing Seamus Coleman is always telling us is that we’ve got to keep on fighting and giving 100 percent.
“Whenever we’ve done that, it doesn’t matter which manager we fight under, we’ve normally been able to get results.
“We’ve got to keep giving 100 percent
– especially under Frank, who has been in the game himself – and we’ll be able to get results.
“As players, we know it isn’t down to the manager or the fans. It’s down to us at the end of the day.”
A red card in the Africa Cup of Nations meant Iwobi missed the draw with Ghana that sent Nigeria tumbling out of the World Cup on away goals in midweek – and sparked a riot amongst the fans.
But his last Premier League outing saw him score only his seventh goal for Everton in the priceless 2-1 victory over Newcastle to spark scenes of pure joy inside Goodison.
Iwobi said: “It was crazy, the scenes were amazing.
“I wish I could describe it but in the moment it was one of those feelings you wish never disappears.
“The main thing for us is we want to have that atmosphere all of the time, so we need to keep working to make sure there are many more feelings like that.
“But it’s now in the past. We have to focus on what is ahead of us at the moment.”