Frank Lampard has explained the training methods he has used to instil as much confidence in the Everton squad as possible. The Blues go into their clash with Southampton this weekend on the back of a rousing victory against Leeds United at Goodison Park last time out.
Frank Lampard said: “The first thing to do is to try and set the environment in and around the pitch. I want things to be as….when I say easy for them as anything in a professional level I expect certain things – but they have to come work with smiles on their faces and when I first came in on the first day I wasn’t sure that the players were smiling that much and that is because of results and circumstances. It is not important at that point to find out why because that’s gone, it’s more important to change it. So we tried to be very bright around the group, we tried to prioritise what we needed to get better at and clearly possession, moving the ball well, was something I really wanted to focus on and how we work off the ball and keep teams away from our goal. So we had sessions to increase possession and sessions to slowly work on the physical condition because it is very hard mid-season to do that. And that can’t be an absolute priority because you can over-work them when there are to many games coming up quickly.”
The fans, the players and the staff all worked in tandem at Goodison last weekend to make sure that the Blues secured the right result against Leeds. However, Lampard is aware that he can’t allow his squad to take their foot off the gas – and they need to do everything they can to keep their confidence at its peak.
Frank Lampard added: “I think there are a lot of variables in football that you can’t control – we’re talking about crowd reaction, media reaction and things – but then there are some things that you can [control]. I always think back to myself as a player, or a coach now, and I only gain confidence going into a game the most I can do is to prepare well, work hard, be diligent, do all the things I can do right, and then take that into the game. And I think if you do that consistently you can fight and work towards confidence. And as I say there are things that will test that and those are things you have to overcome and some of those are mental things so as a coach I suppose you try and be there as a support mechanism in terms of mentally. It feels like I am talking at the end of the season when we have had a really confident year and won a lot. We haven’t but at the same time I am really pleased with the reaction we have had in the short space and the important thing now is not to rest on our laurels because the one thing that will break the confidence that is building is coming off and taking your foot off the pedal. So the players know that that is how I am as a coach. hopefully they enjoy the work and feel good about what they are doing and if they perform like they did on Saturday then the confidence will keep growing I suppose.”
In particular, Lampard highlighted the performances of Michael Keane and Mason Holgate last weekend. The pair were strong at the heart of defence as Everton were able to beat Leeds, and he believes that being positive about them will be best as they continue their spell in the side.
Frank Lampard said: “I had faith in them coming in, I had faith in the defenders we had here, obviously we’ve lost Ben and Yerry, and it puts extra onus on Mason and Michael. But I’ve real faith in their abilities. And I don’t think it is easy being a centre half in the modern day. I think it has even moved on from my era. How taxing it is on them in terms of having to play on the ball, and play out in areas that are tight areas, having to defend in a high line and the way I want us to play which can expose defenders with the spaces behind them, so you are asking a lot of them. So you have to be positive and understand that things are not always going to be perfect. What I found in those two particularly is that they are really good lads, they want to engage, they want to talk about things that haven’t gone quite right, and they want to get better even though they are in their mid-20s and played for England in Michael’s case and Mason always being around that question when he is playing at his best. So I will just try and bring out the positives for them, work with them and keep going. Yep, I’m very happy with them so far but and again I keep saying the same thing, they have to keep going and not lose that edge, that freshness that hopefully we’ve had in the last two or so and needs to continue to build.”
