Mueez Ajao
– Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard will return to the Premier League after being named as the new Everton manager, the club have announced.
– The 43-year-old replaces Rafa Benitez, who was sacked earlier this month. He will be joined by Joe Edwards as assistant manager and Paul Clement as first-team coach.
– “It is a huge honour for me to represent and manage a club the size and tradition of Everton Football Club,” Lampard said. “I’m very hungry to get started. After speaking to the owner, Chairman and the Board, I very much felt their passion and ambition. I hope they felt my ambition and how hard I want to work to bring it together.
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– “You can feel the passion Everton fans have for their club. That will be hugely important. As a team – the competitive level that the Premier League brings and the position we are in the table – we certainly need that. It’s a two-way thing. I think Everton is a unique club in that you can really understand what the fans want to see. The first thing they want is fight and desire and that must always be our baseline.
– “My first message to the players will be that we have to do this together. We’ll try to do our job and I know the fans will be there backing us.”
– Lampard began his managerial career at Derby County in 2018, reaching the Championship playoff final during his only season at the club, before leaving to replace Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea.
– The former England midfielder guided the club to Champions League qualification during his first season in charge, as well as the FA Cup final, despite being restricted by a transfer ban for the first half of the campaign.
– Lampard began his second season with a bolstered squad following a £220 million spending spree in the 2020 summer transfer window, but was unable to maintain Chelsea’s form, resulting in his dismissal in January 2021. His replacement, Thomas Tuchel, subsequently won the Champions League.
– For Everton, Lampard represents the seventh permanent manager since David Moyes’ 11-year reign ended in 2013 when he succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
– Lampard’s first game with his new team will be against Brentford in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday.
– Everton have won once in the league since September and are in 16th place in the Premier League, just four points above the relegation zone.
