This scrap has bin my toughest
TITLE BIDS NO MATCH
WATFORD V EVERTON 7.45PM
FRANK LAMPARD says the stakes are far higher in Everton’s desperate relegation battle than for any of his title triumphs.
The Everton manager admits openly there have been a couple of times in recent months “when sitting on my a**e and doing the bins” seemed like an attractive option.
Yet he says the consuming nature of trying to ensure Premier League survival is inspiring and energising him.
The Toffees sit a point above the drop zone with four games remaining.
And, asked if the easier option would have been to wait for a job with less stress, Lampard said: “Yeah, possibly I could have waited. I could have sat on my a**e and done the bins at home – that has actually seemed quite appealing a couple times in the last few months.
“When you live this experience of a relegation battle, it so consumes you and you so want to do the right thing, because you understand what the stakes are. They are bigger for me now than when I won the league as a player.”
Lampard, who could have Ben Godfrey and Donny van de Beek available again at the weekend, is well aware what relegation would mean for the players, fans and club staff.
“You know the economics of it are greater than winning the title,” said the former Chelsea player. “It’s the idea of what it means to the fans and the people who work here. It’s so important – and so there shouldn’t be any way, with four games to go, you think we are fine.”
Roy Hodgson has apologised to Watford fans for failing to acknowledge them after the Hornets’ relegation was confirmed at Crystal Palace.
The manager said: “If they saw that as a snub, I apologise.
It definitely wasn’t meant that way.”