Frank Lampard said his players need to move on from the emotional high of surviving in the Premier League and concentrate on addressing the issues that left them in that relegation fight.
The Everton boss said: "If we don’t want to be in that situation again, they have to be better and I have to be better." His comments followed a 4-0 defeat to Minnesota United in the Blues' second pre-season tie.
Lampard accepted his side had been "well-beaten", adding: "The players in the dressing room need to understand that they’ve put in a very poor performance individually and collectively." He also pointed to a need to strengthen his squad in the transfer window, particularly after the sale of talisman Richarlison.
READ MORE: Everton player 'ratings' against Minnesota United as few positives found in dismal defeat
AS IT HAPPENED: Minnesota United vs Everton as it happened - Blues hammered 4-0, score, goals and commentary stream
Minnesota United, managed by Goodison Park great Adrian Heath, exposed Everton's frailties at a near-sold out Allianz Field in St Paul. The result followed the Blues' 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in Baltimore on Saturday, meaning they are yet to score this pre-season.
In comments published on club channels after the match, Lampard said: “The players have to work and understand we were in a relegation battle for a big portion of last season. We had an amazing night [against Crystal Palace] and an amazing run… but, as soon as that finished, I put it to bed very quickly, so the players have to put it to bed as well, because we were in that fight for a reason. And if we don’t want to be in that situation again, they have to be better and I have to be better. As a club, it [the Minnesota game] reinforced the situation in terms of what we need to do with the squad, because it has to be stronger that what we saw tonight."
Director of football Kevin Thelwell remained in the UK while Everton toured the US in order to work on transfer business. James Tarkowski has been the club's only signing of the summer so far but Lampard has made it clear he believes his squad needs to be strengthened further.
He said: “There is no doubt about it. When you think of where we were last year, we have lost a big player in Richarlison… we wish him well, but our club now continues. We know there is a void in forward areas, we are short in numbers there. Also, through the team, there are things I want to strengthen, and I can be honest about that, because a club like Everton has to have a competitive squad.
“The players must be up for the fact they have to fight to play in the team. For me, that starts on day one of pre-season and ends at the end of the season. That’s the disappointing thing tonight for me – the lads have trained well and trained hard out here but that performance [against Minnesota] should give them a lot to think about on the plane home, because it’s certainly given me a lot to think about.”
Lampard said the squad had worked hard in training but added that needed to be replicated on the pitch. He said: “The lads have been training hard – physically really hard – especially in the last few days since the Arsenal game on Saturday. We can’t come off that [hard work] because the season’s coming round so quickly, but it doesn’t give excuses for a performance like that. If there is to be good that comes out of this, then the players in the dressing room need to understand that they’ve put in a very poor performance individually and collectively, and got well beaten.”
Lampard has expressed a desire to be flexible in his tactics and hopes to move from the back-five he utilised during the relegation fight to a back-four where possible. He played 4-3-3 against Minnesota as he experimented ahead of the first game of the season against Chelsea on August 6, explaining: “I switched the formation to a back-four, and it was really interesting to see.
"At the back end of last season, we went to a back-three and back-five at times to find ways to get results. For me, it was a different test for the players to go into a back-four, in terms of defensively, the organisation of the team, and the quality on the ball to move the ball through the lines. I got a lot of interesting answers in terms of how we handled the change of formation. There’s lots to think about, lots of work to do. What matters is where we’re at in two and a half weeks.”
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