January 31, (THEWILL) – Frank Lampard has been named as Everton’s new manager after agreeing to a two-and-a-half-year deal. The 43-year-old had been unemployed for a year after being fired as Chelsea’s head coach in January of last year. Previously, he was the manager of Derby County.
Lampard’s coaching staff will include Paul Clement, Joe Edwards, and Chris Jones.
Jody Morris, Lampard’s assistant manager at Chelsea and Derby, will not work with him at Goodison Park. Duncan Ferguson, the caretaker manager, is also reported to be unsure about his place in the new coaching team.
Lampard, a former England midfielder, has conducted talks with Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, and Norwich City about job openings in the last year but has yet to accept one.
Farhad Moshiri, the majority owner of Everton, has chosen Lampard over former Porto coach Vitor Pereira after a lengthy search for a replacement for the dismissed Rafa Benitez.
Lampard, Pereira, and caretaker boss Ferguson were all interviewed for the position last week, and then again on Friday.
Lampard stated: “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.”
Since dismissing Benitez following Everton’s 2-1 loss to Norwich, the Merseyside club has been looking for a replacement.
Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, who is currently the manager of Derby County, revealed he had turned down the chance to be interviewed for the post on Friday.
After Benitez’s departure, Ferguson took over as first-team manager and presided over Everton’s 1-0 loss to Aston Villa last weekend.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
