Everton manager Frank Lampard felt it was time to explain to his players the reality of the club’s precarious situation ahead of Chelsea’s visit and was delighted with their response.
An extremely significant 1-0 victory came thanks to Richarlison’s fourth goal in five games and a brilliant performance by Jordan Pickford’s second-half goalkeeper.
Burnley’s late surprise comeback against Watford on Saturday left Lampard’s side five points clear before the game, and the coach decided he had to work it out before reaching Goodison Park.
“I think it was an important moment to talk about the reality of the situation,” he said.
I think it was an important moment to talk about the reality of the Frank Lampard situation
“You can still tell the players to believe. Then there are other times when these are the claims.
“Being good guys is not enough to stay in this league. It’s clear what the table looks like.
“My feeling was that we needed an extra boost, a little bit of attention, and to be fair, the players offered that.
“I mentioned it briefly (Burnley’s result) to the players this morning because I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a fear or a lack of hope with the points difference.”
Goodison Park inside and outside atmosphere was noisy (Jon Super / PA) (AP)
Lampard’s team has taken 10 points from the last 12 at home, and a noisy Goodison, both outside before the game and inside throughout the match, will play an important role in their future, with two more home games remaining.
Burnley and Leeds, with a lower goal average, are just two points away, and Everton have a game in hand – at home to Crystal Palace three days before the last day of the season – so their destiny remains in their hands.
“I don’t know what’s in your hands at the bottom of the table,” the Everton boss added.
“If it were Liverpool and Manchester City, you would think they would win every game and then in your hands it’s great at that moment.
Richarlison gets the only goal of the game (Peter Byrne / PA) (PA Wire)
“But do we expect Burnley to win every game? For now, maybe yes! Do we expect Leeds to win every game?
“I think it’s hard to say what’s in our hands and that’s because we can only control certain things – and then we play.
“It’s difficult yesterday, we can’t control Burnley. We can’t control Leeds. We can only control ourselves.
“From the five games we will have to control ourselves well enough to get enough points. We don’t know what that is (totally).
Jordan Pickford was outstanding for Everton in the second half Peter Byrne / PA (PA Wire)
“My feeling is that it’s a long way to go.”
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was left to complain about another individual mistake – Cesar Azpilicueta lost possession on the edge of his penalty area – which left him anxiously looking over his shoulder in the race for a place in the top four.
“What can I do? Giving a goal is the worst thing that can happen to you,” he said.
It was a disappointing afternoon for Thomas Tuchel and his team (Peter Byrne / PA) (PA Wire)
“It simply came to our notice then. It happens too often. We fight to play without big mistakes and that’s why we fight to have results.
“In the last matches we struggled to have the blank sheet, in the last four matches we had a free sheet.
“Very disappointed. I knew what was coming from the opponent: the crowd and the way he would approach the match. No one was surprised.”