FRANK Lampard has been confirmed as the new manager of Everton, the club announced on Monday.
The 43-year-old former Chelsea captain and manager replaces Rafael Benitez who was sacked recently over poor results.
Lampard himself was fired by Chelsea last January and replaced with Thomas Tuchel, who subsequently led the club to the UEFA Champions League title.
“Everton Football Club can confirm the appointment of Frank Lampard as the Club’s new manager,” the club stated on Monday.
“The former England midfielder has agreed a two-and-a-half-year contract – until June 2024 – and will take charge of the First Team for the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Brentford at Goodison Park on Saturday 5 February.”
Everton revealed that Lampard was appointed from a pool of candidates who showed interest in the position.
“The appointment of Lampard comes after a robust recruitment process with several candidates being interviewed by the Club’s majority shareholder and Board of Directors,” the club explained.
Lampard, who was one of the best midfielders in the world while playing for Chelsea and England, began his coaching career at Derby County in 2018, leading them to the final of that season’s Championship play-offs.
He was appointed head coach at Chelsea the following year and led them to fourth place in the Premier League and the FA Cup final in his first season in charge.
Lampard said: “It is a huge honour for me to represent and manage a club the size and tradition of Everton Football Club. I’m very hungry to get started. After speaking to the owner, Chairman and the Board, I very much felt their passion and ambition. I hope they felt my ambition and how hard I want to work to bring it together.
“You can feel the passion Everton fans have for their club. That will be hugely important. As a team – the competitive level that the Premier League brings and the position we are in the table – we certainly need that.
It’s a two-way thing. I think Everton is a unique club in that you can really understand what the fans want to see.
The first thing they want is fight and desire and that must always be our baseline.
“My first message to the players will be that we have to do this together. We’ll try to do our job and I know the fans will be there backing us.”
Everton Chairman Bill Kenwright said: “Frank impressed us greatly throughout our process, coming across as a modern, ambitious and exciting young manager. He expressed a clear vision on how he wants to take the club forward and, importantly, a tremendous passion and genuine enthusiasm to join us. I’m sure Evertonians will give him the special welcome that only they can and will be looking forward to giving him and his coaching staff a warm Goodison welcome next weekend.”
Everton are currently 16th in the Premier League table with 19 points from 20 games, just four points away from the relegation zone.
