‘Have you got the b******s to play?’: Frank Lampard questions Everton resilience

Lampard felt that Everton’s heavy FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Crystal Palace wasn’t down to his tactics

Frank Lampard’s Everton were beaten 4-0 by Crystal Palace in their FA Cup quarter-final (AFP via Getty Images)

Frank Lampard has questioned if his Everton players have “got the b******s to play” and insists he doesn’t have a magic wand to change their mindset after watching his side crash out of the FA Cup with a heavy quarter-final defeat against Crystal Palace.

The hosts scored four times at Selhurst Park without reply as Everton’s struggles continued.

Lampard did not feel that the scoreline reflected the difference between the two teams, and maintained that tactics were not the issue in the 4-0 defeat.

Everton are just three points clear of the relegation zone in the Premier League with the 43-year-old boss yet to have the impact he would have liked to after replacing Rafael Benitez on Merseyside.

Openly asking whether his players have the “resilience” to drag the club out of their tough period, Lampard believes he is doing all he can to turn things around.

“There’s only so much you can keep trying to butter someone up to give them confidence,” Lampard said. “There’s a balance of confidence and playing at the cut-throat end of football here.

“This is a quarter-final today to get to Wembley and if you haven’t got the confidence to play, you can quickly flip it and say, have you got the b******* to play?

“That’s the football reality. If you fall somewhere in the middle, then don’t worry about it.

“We didn’t play that badly today and Palace didn’t play that well today, but we lost 4-0 because of a lack of confidence and a lack of what I just said.”

The visitors made a fast start to the game and had several early chances to go ahead, but were again profligate in front of goal.

Marc Guehi celebrates the opener for Crystal Palace against Everton (PA Wire)

Everton have scored just once in their previous six games against Premier League opposition.

Lampard further decried his side’s inability to perform the “basics”, and fears he is running out of time to turn things around.

The former Chelsea player and manager explained: “It wasn’t tactics. Tactics showed in the first 20 minutes. Palace couldn’t get out of their half.

“So, when you do things right within that structure, you’ll be alright.

“But if you can’t be clinical in front of goal, you won’t score goals, you won’t feel like you’re going to score goals.

“And if you allow people to stroll into your box and finish with ease, they will finish with ease. Real basics.

“I don’t have a magic wand to get inside people’s heads and change resilience across the whole squad. That’s a work in progress.

“The difficult thing for us is that we don’t have lots of time in terms of the league to do that.

“My job title is quite vast as a manager, but to get inside heads and change that with the flick of a switch is not possible.

“As frustrating as it is for me, as frustrating as it is for the 4,000 fans who travelled down and the people watching [at home], that’s one we have to fight against.”