‘Spoke to them’ - Bournemouth boss says what Frank Lampard cannot after Everton loss

Gary O'Neil heaped praise on his Bournemouth fringe players after they inflicted an embarrassing defeat on Everton.

The Blues crashed out of the Carabao Cup in limp fashion as they lost 4-1 in the third round at the Vitality Stadium.

Frank Lampard made 11 changes to his starting line-up from last weekend’s 2-0 reverse to Leicester City in the Premier League, while the Cherries made nine of their own after suffering defeat to Tottenham.

And it was Bournemouth's auxiliary squad members who staked a claim to feature more prominently in the Premier League in the future - with Jamal Lowe, Junior Stanislas, Emiliano Marcondes and Jaidon Anthony on target.

While Lampard was left clearly frustrated with his troops who featured on the south coast, Cherries interim manager O’Neil was delighted.

O'Neil told Dorset Live: "I always say the same about them. They're all very, very important to me, since day one. I know people may believe me, may not. They're all equally as important to me. That showed this evening.

"I knew they could perform. When I spoke to them before the game, I expected it to be as it always is. Just because we made changes, it makes no difference. It needs to look like us, it needs to be high-intensity, it needs to be good with the ball.

"So many of them have come out with so much credit. The boys deserved the victory, they put in a really good performance. Really pleased for them.

"Obviously, some of them have come in from not playing very much or longer-term injuries. It was great to get some minutes into them, and great for them to put in a performance they can be proud of."