Frank Lampard has stressed he is not seeking any guarantees over his future as Everton manager and is ready to continue fronting up to challenges that come his way.
The Blues' boss has faced calls to leave his position from some supporters after a run of results which has seen the first-team claim only one victory from their previous ten Premier League fixtures. Brighton's 4-1 victory at Goodison Park marked a new low in the season, and matters were made worse on Wednesday evening when Nottingham Forest's win at Southampton pushed Everton into the bottom three.
Attention momentarily turns away from the top-flight this weekend as the Toffees travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup, though this fixture is unlikely to put an end to talk over unhappiness of fans regarding the board and concern over the direction in which the team are headed under Lampard's stewardship.
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Pressure is continuing to mount on the former Chelsea boss with each passing week, but the 44-year-old is remaining calm despite outside noise. "I have never and would never seek reassurances," said Lampard of his role as manager. "Part of my job is to focus on the job in hand, day-to-day game-to-game and that is the absolute reality of it. I don't need reassurances to come to work and improve a little bit every day. I'm not hunting for any reassurances.
"I think I came here nearly a year ago now and my feeling when I walked in the building was that Evertonians have got such passion for this club. I thought we were going in the direction of relegation, that's my honest feeling. We managed to have an incredible time together to stay up, and everyone saw the images [after beating Crystal Palace]. I lived that moment with the fans. In my mind as I went home that evening and had a glass of wine, I was like 'this is where the work begins'.
"We need to get results and we want to stay in this league, that's the first thing this year. We have just slipped into the bottom three but that's not my major concern as if we win our next league game we will probably be out of it. I can't affect anything other than that. I was very aware of what I came to in this job and I want to be a success at this club. Whatever challenges that come, I will take them head on and I actually enjoy them. I enjoy working for this cub, it is a real honour for me. I'm a big man, working for a great club and I will keep doing it."
Asked to detail conversations he has held with members of the board on the back of Brighton's comprehensive win at the home of the Blues, Lampard refused to shed light on words that have been exchanged. "Private conversations. Simple as that," he said.
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