Everton boss Frank Lampard clarifies Crystal Palace comments and what people took 'the wrong way'

Frank Lampard has offered clarification on his comments following the defeat to Crystal Palace. Before the international break, the manager's post-match interview after his side's 4-0 defeat picked up a lot of attention from the fanbase and from the wider media.

The Blues boss questioned the commitment of his players following another defeat on their travels, wondering whether his squad had the "b*******" to compete. That caused debate among some quarters on whether Lampard should have addressed his side in such a fashion.

However the manager maintains that his players, and some of those questioning his method, will have heard worse in the past. And, he reiterated that he will continue to push his squad, while explaining why he had such questions about their confidence and character following the defeat before the international break.

Lampard remarked: "Yeah. I saw some people say that and some of them were players in an era when a lot worse was said to them than “have you got b*******?” Whether my language was post game or not, to clarify it – and I don’t need to clarify it to the players, because it is normal that I drive them in terms of character – the question I was asked was about confidence.

"I have pushed the players and I have done it since the first day I got here. Against Crystal Palace and Tottenham, it looked very different to how it was against Manchester City and Newcastle.

"Some of those parts that I saw against Palace were not tactical things. We did them against City and Newcastle, we didn’t do them against Palace and Tottenham. I said it quite clear.

"Players have to be mature enough to take it and this group are. I have come into a good group of players. Teams and lads now take a lot of expectation.