I’m not fazed by threat of being sacked
LAMPS CAN LIVE WITH STRAIN
FRANK LAMPARD is under no illusions about the threat of the sack at Everton, saying: “I know the rules – that’s the pressure; no problem, you sign up for that.”
Lampard has been in charge for just 12 games after inheriting a plummeting team, but already there are dire warnings that relegation could destroy his fledgling managerial career.
Yet the former Derby and Chelsea boss is adamant he is used to dealing with a similar sort of pressure, and insisted he lived with the notion he was “only two games from the sack” during his entire Stamford Bridge tenure. “I probably spent 18 months at Chelsea with the same,” he said of the pressure at Goodison Park. “Maybe that is a symptom of football and the Premier League. No problem, you sign up for that. Even if you get to an FA Cup final and make the top four you still know the rules.” Everton could end up in the bottom three if they lose to Manchester United today and other results go against them. Lampard, though, argued that everyone at the club – and the loyal fanbase – knew the mess the team were in before he arrived, and accepted the club’s name alone was no insulation against the threat of the drop.
“We are in this position for a reason, when I came in I was very aware of that,” he said. “You look at other teams around us. Roy Hodgson comes in with incredible experience and Watford are [still] in a relegation battle like we are.
“Dean Smith, huge respect for him, Norwich are in a battle like we are. Sean Dyche, an amazing manager at Burnley, they are in a battle like we are.
“It should be no different for Everton because of our name and the 70 years we haven’t been relegated for, and the league titles and the European trophies we have.
“To bring it back to me, I just have to keep working and trust that good work will get good results for us.”
“I feel the responsibility of managing a club that has an incredible history, and an incredible fanbase, but there’s also the realism of where we’re at.
“The fans I speak to, I don’t think there is anyone delusional about the situation.
“But in football terms I don’t think people should talk about us any different to the teams we are in the battle with.
“What I am is proud to manage here, proud to keep the history of the club going in a positive way.”
Lampard is boosted by the fact that skipper Seamus Coleman, Fabian Delph, Michael Keane and Allan are all back for Everton.
Defender Yerry Mina will be fit to return to the side against Leicester in 11 days’ time.