The cultural overhaul of the Everton dressing room continued over the summer with the introduction of a fine system designed to uphold standards.
Frank Lampard - who put one in place while he was the Chelsea boss - had decided against a similar move when he arrived at Goodison Park. But away from the high-pressure of last season's relegation battle he has now brought one in, explaining many players like what is essentially an attempt to police discipline.
It is part of a series of changes in the dressing room, another being the creation of a leadership group within the squad. That came about towards the end of the last campaign and its members have changed over the summer. Lampard said he had not always appreciated the value of a core leadership team while he was a player but his view had changed - boosted by the "trust" he has in his current crop of stars.
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Lampard's fine system at Stamford Bridge became a major talking point when its details became public, penalties including £2,500 for being late for training and £500-a-minute when late for a team meeting. Amid the intensity of the survival fight he decided against implementing a similar system at Everton, but that has now changed - though he insisted the punishments were not so severe.
He explained: "When I went to Chelsea the feeling was that maybe discipline had not been spot on - that was from the players by the way, not my view, so we brought that in. It got a few eyebrows because of the numbers, and then in the second year at Chelsea I came off that a little bit and then you come into Everton. I think I said at the time it didn't feel a priority last year to go 'you are fined if you are late', the priority was 'can we get three points this weekend?' Now we have got a little bit more time this season, the group is set up, the players have come in, I think a lot of the players, my feeling is they like there being some sort of policing of the standards and I think it can help if done right. We feel like the players are fully involved in it so they are happy with the levels, we are not killing them with the levels, but it is good to have something in place to make sure we stay on point. We certainly speak to the players a lot about the balance of confidence and progression and complacency, it is a very fine line and I think things like a leadership group and the right fines system can help keep that balance."
Lampard said the leadership group was set up during the height of the fight for the club's Premier League status and had remained in place this season - new members being added as the squad evolved in the summer. He explained: "We brought it in at the end of last season and it was probably a critical time when we were trying to find ways to stay in the league. We had some experienced players - and some who are not here anymore - in that group. It looks different now. I have a lot of trust in it. There are good pros in it and a bit of balance that it hopefully represents all of the squad. I went into management and I wasn’t sure on leadership groups. I went through my career and I wouldn’t say I didn’t pay attention to it but I was fortunate that at the club I was at that it was just there. The leadership group just dealt with stuff without being a group."
Lampard's view on the structure has changed and, while the one in place at Everton is largely proactive, he also liaises with them - or one of his staff does - if they spot a potential issue. Describing its importance, he said: "[I] think that in modern management, of some of the things that challenge you all the time, some things should be dealt with by the players before you. I think when you have a group of good lads who want to do the right thing they can deal with a small issue in the dressing room or a small thing about how we prepare for games, stuff like that. It is important."
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