Micah Richards: Everton ‘don’t expect’ to be in relegation battle, toxic trait could set in
Micah Richards says Frank Lampard’s inexperience is a disadvantage for Everton in their battle against relegation this season, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live.
Everton made it four defeats in six league games since Lampard took over with a 1-0 defeat to Wolves on Sunday, meaning they only sit outside the bottom three on goal difference now.
Richards, who was relegated with Aston Villa, says that because the club didn’t expect to be in this situation it is bringing more pressure onto them and named a ‘toxic’ trait that could set in if they continue to struggle for results in the league.
“You look at Everton and the amount of money they’ve spent, they haven’t been relegated out of the Premier League,” he said.
“They don’t expect to be in this position and that just brings more pressure. They brought in Lampard, I thought it would be a good fit and it might prove to be the case if they stay up. He will then get a full pre-season and can get his style of play engrained in the squad.
“Right now, they’ve got the expectation of a great club, great history and the fans are so passionate. They’ve also got an inexperienced manager at the helm. So, all these things and you look at the fixtures moving forward, they are very, very tough.
“I’ve been in the relegation battle before and once you concede the first goal, the whole team knows they are going to lose. When that sets in at Everton, it will become toxic quickly and I don’t think we’re at that point yet.”
Toxic
It’s scary to hear that players often give up after conceding the first goal, when they’re in a position where they should be fighting even harder at that point.
It’s positive to see that Richards doesn’t believe that is happening at Goodison Park right now, but with just two Premier League wins in 22 games this season it can’t be far away.
The performances have progressively got worse under Lampard, with their initial good home form completely plummeting despite the new manager being brought in and fans’ mood being changed.
With the club’s Premier League status hanging in the balance, the team need to find a way to turn it around as quickly as possible.
They take on Newcastle on Thursday night at Goodison in one of their three games in hand, where any points would be seen as a huge boost at this point considering the run of fixtures coming up.
In other Everton news, ‘Worried’ – Ray Parlour makes Everton relegation prediction after defeat v Wolves