Frank Lampard admits a sense of ‘delight and relief’ after keeping Everton in the Premier League

Frank Lampard has admitted he feels a huge sense of ‘delight and relief’ after keeping Everton in the Premier League amid the biggest threat to the club’s top-flight status.

The Toffees were beaten 5-1 at a rampant Arsenal on the final day of the 2021/2022 season, but that did little to silence the away end who celebrated their status as a top-flight team after Thursday’s incredible comeback win against Crystal Palace.

And despite another woeful away-day performance to add to the list, Lampard stressed his overall emotion was one of relief at keeping the club afloat.

"We spent a lot of energy on Thursday.” Lampard said. “Richarlison, Allan and Andre Gomes were injured, while a few of the lads deserved a rest.

"Our big final was on Thursday and we won it. Today was just a step too far.

“It’s a difficult game for the players and Arsenal were playing for something. I thought Tom Davies played well and Dominic really showed his power.

“My immediate feeling is absolute delight and relief that we kept the Club in the Premier League.

"When I came in, confidence was low and we had to deal with a lot of injuries.

"The good thing about pre-season now is that we can work on things that we want to work on and improve the squad."

Since arriving at Goodison Park in January, Lampard has endured an incredibly stressful second-half to the season, with Everton deep in the relegation fight throuhout and at points favourites to go down.

He and his players stepped up when it mattered most, however, producing an outstanding display to beat Chelsea at home before ending their away-day hoodoo with a win at Leicester.

Those victories went a long way to securing safety, and when the Toffees hit three goals in the second-half on Thursday to come back from 2-0 down, safety was finally secured and an unbearable season finally ended.

For Lampard - and for his players - the next few weeks will provide chance to relax and recover from the physical and mental torture of a relegation fight, but he admitted that next season is never too far from the minds of him and his staff.

"I need a break but a manager’s life is a busy one and we need to do things pretty quickly.” the Everton boss added.

"The team will be back on 1 July. I’ll be switching on before then."