Seamus Coleman has admitted Everton players are aware of the unfortunate role they played in Frank Lampard losing his job.
The Blues parted company with the 44-year-old after a wretched run of results left the club stuck in the bottom three at the midway stage of the Premier League season, forcing Farhad Moshiri into taking the decision to make a change.
Lampard helped secure Everton's survival status in the penultimate fixture of last season courtesy of a dramatic 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace at Goodison Park, sparking scenes of jubilation on the pitch and in the stands.
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Post-match celebrations soon followed inside the first-team dressing room, with Coleman singled out by Lampard as a legend of the club boasting unrivalled morals and standards. The pair's tight-knit relationship has ensured the right-back has felt a sense of responsibility for Lampard's dismissal and has conceded it has been a challenging situation to manage.
“There is no getting away from it, it’s been difficult, it’s been tough. As a whole, we all have to take responsibility. We have lost another manager and for me, personally, I have seen I don’t know how many managers now," said the 34-year-old.
“You are not innocent from it all and you have played a part in another manager getting sacked. Us as players have been a massive part of that as well. It is not just a case of you see one manager off and another comes in, it hits you hard. When a manager goes, it is a reflection of what we have done on the pitch and what I have done as a captain as well.
“We wish Frank all the very best. He gave his all to the football club and did a great job keeping us up last year. Now we have got a new manager in, and we all need to do our best. This football club for the next 18 games is fighting for everything and we need to keep fighting. We have to find a way of getting results.”
Selected as Lampard's successor, Sean Dyche hasn't taken long to hammer home the standards he expects of those at the club after banning snoods and hats in training. Reassured by the instant impact delivered by the ex-Burnley boss, Coleman has stressed the team are buying into his measured methods.
“I am confident with the new manager coming in because he has proved it in the past and hopefully he can do it again. He has been tough, but he has been fair and he has been honest. He says it how it is. He did not manage in the Premier League for ten or eleven years without having something about him," the Republic of Ireland international told talkSPORT.
“It is not just a case of him making us wear shin pads and socks (in training) or making us run, there is loads more to what he has brought to us already. We are still within touching distance of a lot of teams so I would like to flip all the negativity into thinking we can turn this around.
“I feel like a lot of talk is that it’s inevitable and some people are sitting, waiting and even hoping Everton go down. We know with the fanbase we have and with the quality in the dressing room that if we can come together, without thinking we are too big to go down, we will give ourselves the best possible chance.”
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