Paul Clement believes Frank Lampard has what it takes to become a top manager, revealing the Blues boss 'lives, eats and breathes' his job.
Clement, whose top level coaching experience includes roles at Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris St Germain and Chelsea, highlighted Lampard’s work ethic and conscientiousness as key attributes that could help him achieve further success after a glittering playing career.
He described the connection Lampard, who brought him into his back room staff at Finch Farm earlier this year, forged with supporters amid last season’s relegation battle as unique, adding: “I think that was special.”
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Clements’s comments came in a wide-ranging interview that offered a detailed insight into Lampard, his coaching style and the behind-the-scenes work ongoing at Everton.
The fascinating overview of work at Goodison Park, Finch Farm and on the club's pre-season tour of the US included:
- Why he believes Lampard is destined for the top as a manager
- How Ashley Cole is to take responsibility for set-pieces
- The role of data on fitness and signings
- What Duncan Ferguson’s exit means to the club
- The efforts to change Everton's playing style - but why that may take time
Clement joined Lampard's staff as one of the most experienced coaches in the modern game. His career has included stints as Carlo Ancelotti's assistant manager at clubs across Europe, as well as a remarkable - and successful - Premier League relegation fight with Swansea City.
Having worked for and against some of football's greatest minds across more than two decades, the 50-year-old said he was confident Lampard - who he coached as a player at Chelsea - had the potential to go far. He said: "My opinion is Frank will go a long way in management and I'm not just saying that, I have a reason behind it. I think he has got the right temperament for it. He has got the right commitment for it as well. I'm not always sure that is the case with very, very high level players, they come out of football and they don't have that work ethic, that desire, and he really does.
"He is really, really conscientious - really conscientious, and I hadn't worked with him, this is the first time I have worked with him on the coaching side because I wasn't with him at Chelsea when he was coach and I wasn't with him at Derby when he was a coach - so I knew him as a player and now I know him as a manager and he is really, really conscientious. He lives, eats, breathes his job. He talks about it until late, he is on it right from the morning. When he was on holiday he was on the phone and messaging. He is fully immersed in it and I think that is the only way you can be as a manager if you want to do it properly."
Lampard's commitment to work was obvious during his bid to mastermind Everton's Premier League survival - a number of stories of his early arrivals at Finch Farm and late nights plotting a way out of trouble emerging in the aftermath of the memorable win over Crystal Palace that guaranteed the club would remain in the top flight.
Focus has now shifted away from the celebrations sparked by that win and on to preparation for the new season - a point Lampard was keen to make after Everton's disappointing defeat to Minnesota United during the club's US tour this month.
Asked what that means on the training ground, and how demands on Lampard had changed as a result, Clement said: "Frank did really well last season in dealing with what needed to happen first, and what could be parked for later. Now we're into a different phase, and what he does know is that it's a process. There's definitely going to be a shift, but some of the stuff that happened before was good and we don't want to lose it [like] that atmosphere created inside Goodison.
"We know what the fans demand. They like intensity, players giving everything they've got, aggression, speed and really that has to be the foundation. We're not going to implement a style that doesn't fit with that. We certainly feel there's some changes to be made in the style so there's more balance in what we do. If it is right to go direct, or play out through the defence and midfield, we just want the team to have the intelligence and confidence to do it and make the right decisions at the right time."
Recruitment will be key to allowing Lampard the ability to adapt Everton's playing style, a point he has made this summer and which Clement re-iterated: "He has the ability to take us forward, but he needs help with it. That help needs to come from the club because he needs support with what goes on behind the scenes and with the players. The players are the most important thing and the squad needs freshening up. There's a lot of work going on to make that happen.
"Those conversations have been going on for weeks and weeks, since the end of last season. As soon as that position was secured, those conversations were ongoing. You focus on where your research has led you and what you believe in. Transfer business is really, really complicated. There's a lot of moving parts. You have to be adaptable."
Speaking during Everton's US tour, Clement said several potential targets had been identified by club staff for this summer and work was ongoing to improve the squad. Underpinning that hunt for new players is data - lots and lots of data. Clement is a friend of Billy Beane, whose data-led recruitment strategies revolutionised baseball and influenced change across other sports - including football. Data has now become a huge part of football - though Clement said that sometimes presented difficulties. Important to its use is understanding how to interpret it, and knowing what to look for, he said, adding: "I think we [Everton] are at a stage where we have got a good insights department. The guys can provide whatever we want... I think key performance indicators are really important. You decide on the way you want to play, what the style is, what is important to you in the way that you play and then those metrics can just come at you and it's easier to look at it that way."
He cautioned against relying solely on data when making decisions, however: "I just think data is part of a bigger picture. When you are a coach or a manager it is a big jigsaw puzzle. You have got to try and put all the pieces together to try and make a really clear picture, that is how I would best describe it, and I think data and analytics just forms a small part of that. But there are so many other pieces - that is what you are trying to deal with all the time."
Clement's role has evolved since he joined Everton. One of his initial areas of responsibility was set-pieces - both offensively and defensively. Him standing next to Lampard on the edge of the technical area while Everton defended - or took - a corner became a common sight near the end of last season. This year fellow coach Ashley Cole will take on oversight of this area - a role of continuing importance after three pre-season games in which defending corners has been an issue for the Blues.
Discussing his own role, Clement said: "It is slightly different now and will be slightly different moving forward to what it was when I first came in. When I first came in it was multiple roles really, a big part of it was to work on the set-plays with the team, defensive and offensive as well. That is something I have done at various times throughout my career. I did it all the time when I assisted Carlo. When I was manager I didn't do it, I delegated it to another member of my staff.
"Frank asked me to do it. I was happy to do it. I think we had quite a lot of success on the offensive side. We had a good start, I think we dipped and then we came strong again at the end with vital goals against Leicester and obviously against Crystal Palace, so as a whole we were pretty pleased with the offensive side. Defensively, we were not very good I didn't think. Again, we had some improvement and then, I know the last game [at Arsenal] was a bit of a dead game in the end, but you could see the vulnerability was there again. So lots of work needs to be done on that. Ashley Cole is going to have a lot of responsibility in that area this season, which is good. He will be a different voice for the players, more responsibility for Ashley is good, and from my point of view it will better to just sort of step away from that so I can help Frank across a number of different areas. What is my one particular area? I don't think there is one - I'm not going to be able to say to you: 'That is what I do'. I am an experienced coach now. I still feel pretty young as a coach but I have got 25 years' experience through academy football, European football and, with Carlo, working at a very high level, with some great teams. I've obviously been a manager myself, so I might see things a little bit different to everybody else. But across the board I think we have got quite a well rounded team.
Clement believes Everton will be better at dealing with set pieces this season, particularly with the signing of James Tarkowski and the returns to fitness of Yerry Mina and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Everton's coaching team has lost the presence of club legend Duncan Ferguson since the end of last season. The former striker - who was twice caretaker manager - left to pursue his own managerial ambitions. This was a decision Clement said he could understand. He said: "His presence is missed, for sure. He was really popular... we'll certainly miss his personality and humility."
Explaining how the remaining staff will try to cope with Ferguson's departure, he said: "We're really open with players. We all get amongst them. There's nothing missing in terms of that, in my opinion. I also understand Duncan's ambition now, because I've had that myself before. When you've had the taste, it's an amazing experience."
Lampard has spoken of his desire to adapt Everton's tactical approach - though he returned to five at the back for the win at Blackpool on Sunday. After that game Lampard accepted he needed to be pragmatic in his approach to matches. This was a point emphasised by Clement, who said it could take multiple transfer windows for Lampard and his team to stamp their imprint on the squad.
Clement explained: "You have to be adaptable. You have to work in a way that builds on some of the good stuff that happens and you also have to adapt to injuries, the opponent. You have to be sensible. For example, why would you force playing out from the back against a really good high-pressing team? You've got to come up with something else. If you play against a team that sits off and gives you space, why would you go direct? Yes, we'll have a style. But we'll be adaptable based on the circumstances. Frank is working very hard on culture and style of play and we're supporting him with that."
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