Michael Keane Everton
Everton defender Michael Keane believes Frank Lampard has given the team ‘more freedom’ since being appointed as the club’s manager at the end of last month.
Michael Kane said: “Since the new manager has come in, there have been a lot of positives. We were confident going into the game against Leeds. We’ve been working well on the training ground and we’re happy to see it come off on the pitch. The intensity of training has been high as well as the way we press. He’s given us the freedom to pass the ball more and show what we’re capable of. All those things added together make a big difference. From minute one (against Leeds) we got in their faces, and we got the crowd with us. I thought the fans were brilliant today and we responded to that. We helped each other out. We had a quick start and were two up within about the first 20 minutes or so. We defended well. It’s never easy to play against Leeds but we knew if we matched their work-rate we’d have chances to score, and thankfully we took them.”
Everton will look to build on this weekend’s triumph when they head to Southampton next weekend, before facing league league leaders Manchester City on home soil at the end of the month. Both Norwich City and Watford fell to defeats on Saturday, significantly strengthening the Toffees’ survival chances. Lampard’s side are now five points clear of 18th-placed Norwich City, with two games in hand on the Canaries.
