Frank Lampard has responded to speculation over his future after a report claimed he had been given the dreaded vote of confidence by the Everton hierarchy, despite the relegation-threatened Toffees' horrible form of late.
Most recently, Lampard's side suffered a damaging defeat to fellow strugglers Burnley. The 3-2 loss left the Merseysiders hovering just one point and one place above the drop zone.
That result also means that Everton have taken just six points from a possible 27 in the Premier League since Lampard took over from Rafa Benitez at Goodison Park.
Despite this, the Daily Mail reports that the former Chelsea man retains the full support of the Toffees. Reports had suggested that Everton majority shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, was on his way to Liverpool for talks with Lampard.
However, these claims have since been rubbished, with Moshiri not even in the country.
Addressing the speculation in a pre-match press conference on Friday, Lampard said: "For me, in my relatively short managerial career, I probably spent 18 months at Chelsea with the same. Over that 18 months you’re probably always two games from the sack.
“Maybe that’s just a symptom of football and the Premier League, it’s pressure, that’s fine, you sign up for that, I’ve got no problem with that. Even if you’re in the FA Cup final or make the top four or whatever, you still know the rules.
“So I’ve got no problem with that in terms of speculation. We’re a huge club, people want to talk about it. In football terms I don’t think anyone else should talk about us any being any different from the other teams in the battle we’re in.
“We’ve got no right to not be fighting a battle against relegation, irrespective of history. But what I am is proud to manage here and proud to keep the history of this club going in a positive way. I don’t buy into it (the speculation), I do my job.”
On paper, Everton have the toughest run-in of the teams in the relegation battle. If they lose to Manchester United this weekend and Burnley can get a result against basement-dwellers Norwich City, the Toffees will drop into the bottom three.
After taking on Ralf Rangnick's side Everton face Leicester City twice in quick succession, and they still have to take on Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal before the end of the campaign. A relegation six-pointer against Watford on 11 May will be pivotal in their survival bid.
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Source : 90min