Everton manager Frank Lampard insists he is not afraid of his future after Goodison Park turned their backs on their players and the club’s board in a dismal 4-1 loss to Brighton.
A disastrous seven-minute spell at the start of the second half in which they conceded three light goals to Evan Ferguson, Solly March and Pascal Gross damaged Kaoru Mitoma’s early halftime kick, but their performance up to that point only delays the inevitable.
Demarai Gray’s additional time consolation only led to more “loot the board” chants.
Lampard, who did not leave the dressing room for media interviews for more than 45 minutes after the final whistle, was asked if he feared his job after just one win and seven losses in the last 10 Premier League games.
“We’ve been fighting relegation ever since I got here,” he said.
“This is not a state of fear, I cannot control the conversation or the decision when you are in this area of the table. I absolutely understand any backlash when you lose a game like this.
“I am very confident and will work to turn this around. The only worry you may have is the work you will do the next day. I had a relegation battle and you have to focus on getting going again.”
After being booed by his actors, he added: “It’s difficult, you have to understand human nature at that time. It is what it is.”
Owner Farhad Moshiri has sacked five directors in the nearly seven years since he became majority shareholder, and Lampard’s win rate is lower than the man he replaced at the end of the month, the unpopular Rafael Benitez, as he approached his first anniversary. .
Nathan Patterson left Goodison on crutches with a brace on his right knee to compound a miserable night, and Lampard confirmed the defender suffered a medial ligament injury.
Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi led the Seagulls to eighth place in the league, taking over from Graham Potter in September, and his team was organized and efficient – everything Everton hasn’t been.
“We have to improve. We have to ask ourselves more. There was a different quality of play in the second half, the second half was fantastic,” he said.
“We played more energetically to score more goals and I only regret the Everton goal. Our progress is to find the right mindset.
“We can’t accept Everton’s goal at that moment. The goal hasn’t changed anything today, but it might change at the end of the season.”