FRANK Lampard has admitted that he is bothered by Everton’s spiral towards relegation from the Premier League on the eve of their FA Cup clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Everton lost 4-0 at home to Brighton on Tuesday night, their fourth defeat in five Premier League fixtures that has left them third from bottom and in relegation trouble.
The former Chelsea captain and manager is reportedly set to be sacked as Everton boss anytime from now but he sounded defiant during his pre-match press conference today.
“I never seek reassurances; my job is to focus day to day, game to game. I don’t need reassurances, I want to improve everything every day,” Lampard said when he was asked if he felt under pressure after the Brighton defeat.
“I came here nearly a year ago and my honest feeling was we were going in the direction of relegation.
“Evertonians have such passion for this club and we managed to have an incredible time together. It is going to be a tough journey; surviving a relegation battle is all well and good but it is a process. I’m not silly, we need results.”
Everton looked to be heading back in the right direction after holding Manchester City to a 1-1 draw last Saturday and Lampard hopes to shock another Manchester club tomorrow night in the FA Cup third round.
“It is a similar type of stadium we are going to (Old Trafford). Man United are a good team with good individuals,” he noted.
“We’ll have to be diligent, organised and have the same work ethic as we had at City.
“We can only control what we can control so we want to perform well, with a good work ethic and passion. That ignites the fans and that is our responsibility. It is on us to bring them with us and stand up to play for Everton.”
The former England international is keen to strengthen his squad in January in the bid to avoid relegation.
He said: “We are looking at both loans and permanent deals. All things are on the table, Finances aren’t my strength but we want to improve in January.
“But my job is working with the players we’ve got here now and trying to get results against Man United and Southampton. It is not an easy window but we will try because we need it.”
