Lampard gets another shot at coaching, but Everton won't make for easy return

MANCHESTER, England : Having waited almost a year for another shot at top-level management, Frank Lampard has been tasked with as tough a challenge as it gets: resurrecting an Everton side in turmoil.

It is not the best time to be a Toffees supporter, and protests outside Goodison Park have become commonplace.

Fans have called for the board to be sacked, pleaded with the club last summer not to appoint former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez, and made clear - in graffiti as well - their opposition to the proposed hiring of Vitor Pereira over Lampard.

The fact that the unpopular appointment of Benitez, who won the Champions League with bitter local rivals Liverpool in 2005, went so badly wrong has made the atmosphere at Goodison even more toxic.

Lampard takes over a club four points above the Premier League relegation zone, and facing the distinct possibility of finding themselves competing outside the top tier of English football for the first time in almost 70 years next season.

The problems at the club go beyond the dressing room. Marcel Brands left his position as director of football in December after making a string of signings that failed to deliver, and a successor has yet to be found.

Benitez was still able to make some signings before he was sacked in mid-January, with several names mentioned as last-minute potential arrivals before the January transfer window closes on Monday night, adding to the feeling of chaos at the club.

MUCH TO PROVE

As for Lampard, regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, the jury is still out on his capabilities as a manager.

All went well initially for Lampard as a coach, and he narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League with second-tier Derby County in his first