Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard has admitted it is his job to pick up his Everton players after spotting more positives against Wolves than he did against Tottenham Hotspur.
Frank Lampard said: “I don’t put emphasis on Goodison Park, I want to get points everywhere. It wasn’t more worrying than Tottenham, Tottenham wasn’t a good performance. Today I think the first half we were the stronger team. Wolves do not give you opportunities much, that’s why they concede so little. But I thought we were really solid in the first half and had the better chances. The goal, for me, changed the whole feeling of the game, the feeling of the stadium. That’s understandable, with the position the club is in and that’s been coming for a long time. There were a lot more positives in this game in terms of performance. And again it’s just disappointing because everyone feels the need for points. We’ve got 12 games to go now, so we can’t get too stuck in the rut of looking at this game alone. We lost against a good team, in a tight match, with ten men for the last period of the game when you really want to push. So it certainly wasn’t on the level of Tottenham.”
Lampard was not concerned about the reaction from the crowd at the end of the match, and understands how fans feel.
Frank Lampard added: “I’ve been a player for 20 years, I’ve seen plenty of reactions from crowds. I can’t stand here and say thanks very much for helping us play so well against Brentford and Leeds and Man City, and not expect that fans that want the team to do well and stay up – they’re not going to have reactions.”
Looking ahead to the coming weeks, Lampard knows it is his job to instil some positivity into the side.
Frank Lampard said: “It’s my job to do it [pick the side up]. You go into these games understanding the quality level of the Wolves team, they take everyone to the wire at least. This can happen in football. It’s my job to be confident, to be positive, to be realistic – and the realistic view is we’ve got 12 games, some games in hand on other teams around us. Of course they’re only good if we can win them, and we’re waiting probably for that moment where something turns in our favour. It was a difficult game for the lads today because we were ok until a cross and a clean header goes against us. Maybe that will turn in our favour. We can’t think about ‘maybes’ and ‘what ifs’, we absolutely just have to work and fight. That’s what these positions demand.”
