Frank Lampard insists he is ‘not concerned’ following Everton’s run of consecutive defeats, ahead of this weekend’s clash with Crystal Palace.
Everton have suffered three straight defeats in the Premier League to slide down the table, with the run of results having brought an abrupt end to the club’s six-game unbeaten run.
The Toffees – who are now just a point outside the Premier League’s bottom three – welcome Crystal Palace to Goodison Park tomorrow and Lampard insists his focus is on only the next game and earning a positive result.
“I’m not too concerned about what the last few weeks have looked like. My focus is on the next game,” Lampard told his pre-match press conference.
“We have been through a hard run of games. It is nice to be back here at Goodison. It’s important that we focus on ourselves and continue to repeat the good things we have shown.”
Everton have won just once at home so far this season, but Lampard believes fixtures on Merseyside will be ‘important’ to his team and believes the atmosphere at Goodison Park can be a weapon for his side.
Asked whether home games are going to be pivotal for his side, Lampard said: “When are they not? Goodison is special. When you think of the atmosphere we can create, it is a big deal for us. We have to use it as one of our weapons.”
This weekend’s game against Palace at Goodison Park is a repeat of last May’s encounter in which a 3-2 victory for the Toffees saw them secure their Premier League status, a night that stirs fond memories for Lampard.
“That game will not be easy to replicate – it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime evening for me. It was one of the best nights of my life and I feel fortunate to have been a part of it.
“Now it is about making sure we build on that and try to improve. I am sure Palace will want to put some things right from that night, but I am more looking at the match from the side of ‘where can we keep building’. We have to understand the importance of that Palace game in the sense of why we were there, why we were in that situation.
“We have to look to the future and how we can be more stable going forward and that’s what we are trying to do.”
