Mason Holgate has hailed Frank Lampard as a ‘breath of fresh air’ as the head coach instils a sense of confidence at Everton he has not felt ‘for a long time’ under previous managers.
Lampard is the seventh permanent gaffer Holgate has played under at Goodison Park since joining from Barnsley in 2015. The centre-half moved to Merseyside for £2m under Roberto Martinez. But he never entered the Spaniard’s side before debuting under Ronald Koeman.
Holgate amassed 22 Premier League outings under Koeman, the second-most of any of his Toffees managers so far. Only under Carlo Ancelotti has the 25-year-old played more often in the top-flight. Yet the Italian also started him at right-back for 15 of his 44 appearances.
Lampard has swiftly put more faith in Holgate at Everton than his predecessor Rafa Benitez had this term. The England icon has backed the Doncaster-born star to start all four of his league fixtures at the helm so far. Benitez only started Holgate six times over his 19 games.
Holgate hails Lampard as ‘breath of fresh air’ as Everton manager
Holgate greatly appreciates the support Lampard has also shown in him compared to some of his previous managers at Everton. The defender recalls how he has previously felt under immense pressure to perform or lose his place in the line-up, which is no longer the case.
“To be honest, I’ve not felt that level of confidence in me for a long time,” Holgate told the Toffees’ matchday programme. “I would never criticise anyone who has been here before, they worked hard and made the decisions they thought were best for the team.
“But it goes back to those big parts of my time here when I’ve gone into games thinking: ‘If I don’t get a clean sheet or play out of my skin, I won’t play next week’. It’s been a bit more relaxed with [Lampard]. I can play my game and, hopefully, keep doing well for the team.
“You want the confidence to know you can play [and] if you make a mistake, you know he won’t think: ‘That’s it, he’s not good enough to do this’.
“To have a manager who believes in you, and if you make a mistake says, ‘keep going, keep going’, rather than, ‘don’t do that’, is a breath of fresh air.”
Holgate at most started three Premier League games in a row during Benitez’s brief tenure at Everton. Yet his place in the side also mostly came about whilst Yerry Mina was injured. He also only played 13 times under Marco Silva, who sent him to West Brom on loan too.
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