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Lampard's Demand Ahead Of West Ham

Frank Lampard insists he and his players can instigate a positive change in their fortunes - but only by being “unselfish” and "pushing themselves to the limit" to put things right.  

The Blues return to action on Saturday afternoon (3pm GMT) when they travel to the London Stadium to take on West Ham United in a crucial game.   

Saturday’s contest is the first chance for the Blues to bounce back from the disappointing tight 2-1 home defeat to Southampton last weekend. It is also an opportunity for Everton to climb above their hosts, out of the bottom three and up several places in the league table should they win. 

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s trip, Lampard said: “I came here a year ago in what was a difficult moment for the Club in terms of confidence and results. The feeling when I come up here was that we are in a relegation fight.   

“That’s how it turned out, and we stayed up. But that’s part of the reason when you are in these situations you can call them challenging, rather than tough because this is football management. We are always striving to get the best for the next game ahead.   

“Everyone here wants the same things; they want Everton to win games. Whether that be an Evertonian who is sitting at Goodison or sitting at home, there are so many of them around the world, I have learnt that in this last year. We all want the same thing.   

“The players don’t want to be in this position, the reality is we are here. There are lots of reasons for that but they should have a human reaction to that after games. I have had things to say, too, because from my point of view given the position we are in, we must fight, and be ready to fight."

He continued: “If the players are disappointed we lost, then that’s good. If they want to fight, be a good teammate and not think about themselves, instead think about the team, the next result and training with great intensity whether starting or not, then that’s what I want.   

“They [the players] have to think about what they can do to get out of these difficult moments, I have been in many during my career, and the only way is to work, focus and be really unselfish about it. Pushing yourself to the limit and that’s where we are."   

  
Lampard also admitted the Club are still working hard to get deals over the line during this January transfer window, with a particular focus on bringing in players at the top end of the pitch.   

“We absolutely want to help the squad; we have said it a lot. We want to make the squad stronger.” admitted the boss.

“I am aware everyone is trying to do the same thing and teams around us are working on their squads, getting competition in forwards areas.   

“We know we need more competition, more of a clinical nature to us at the top end of the pitch. That’s a reality we have to understand. We must try and improve it. It’s not an easy window, but people are working towards trying to bring players in. I as a coach know we need to help it.”