Andros Townsend believes Everton's torrid relegation battle last season is the best thing that could have happened to manager Frank Lampard ahead of his first full season in charge of the Blues.
The former Crystal Palace and Newcastle man was brought to Goodison Park by former Blues boss Rafa Benitez last summer and enjoyed a flying start to his career on Merseyside as he contributed three goals and one assist during his first seven outings - which included a goal at Old Trafford.
However, despite Benitez's early-season promise, the cracks started to appear and the Everton faithful soon ran out of patience with the former Liverpool manager, which ultimately led to the Spaniard being dismissed from his position after an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Norwich City in January.
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Lampard, his successor, endured a difficult start to life in the Goodison Park hot seat as the Blues only mustered three wins from their first ten Premier League outings under their new boss, form which saw them slip into an unprecedented relegation battle.
However, an outstanding stretch of just three defeats from their final eight matches - including resounding wins against Chelsea and Leicester - saw the Blues clinch Premier League safety which culminated in a remarkable late comeback against Crystal Palace.
And Townsend, speaking to talkSPORT, has revealed the difficulties he and his teammates suffered last season can act as a springboard for the Everton manager ahead of the upcoming campaign.
He said: "Everyone knows my relationship with the previous manager [Rafa Benitez], I know he wasn't liked much by the fanbase, but I had a great relationship with him from Newcastle and him taking me to Everton when literally nobody else would touch me.
"But I think when Frank came in he inherited a broken squad. Mentally we were broken, for some reason, we couldn't get out of that losing mentality, that losing run, we couldn't shake it.
"And I think now that we have survived, I'm sure the manager will admit himself, that it's probably the best thing that could have happened to us because he's seen which players he can trust, which players he can't, which players are mentally up for the battle and he knows what he needs going into the summer."
The 30-year-old continued: "Whereas normally, when a new manager comes in, they get a bounce, we would have finished 10th and he wouldn't have really got to know the players. I think he knows exactly what he needs going into the summer. Hopefully, we can use this experience of relegation, to never be there again, but as a springboard for next season."
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