Lampard’s halftime message to Everton yesterday against Boreham Wood

Everton took some time to get going last night against non-League side Boreham Wood, but looked a lot better when they switched to a 4-4-2 with Richarlison on the pitch, eventually winning 2-0 with a Salomon Rondon brace. The Toffees move on into the FA Cup quarter finals with a trip to Crystal Palace on the cards for a chance to go to Wembley.

Speaking after the game, manager Frank Lampard indicated his frustration with how slowly his side were moving the ball in the first half.

“In terms of the game, it was comfortable in the end. We were slow in the first half, which is interesting for me because this type of game needs an injection of tempo and pace with the level we normally play at. We were below that.

“But we addressed it at half time, the players did, and we were sharper in the second half. “We’re through to the next round, and these games are not easy. Especially if you don’t score early, but I thought we dealt with elements of the game well.”

Did Lampard lay into his players with the game scoreless at the break, and what did he say to them?

“I did, but I’m here not that long and I have to understand that the players need to hear a message - not just for me to shout at them about how slow they’re playing. So we try to make a clear message. We made a change to get Richarlison [on], get another player behind their midfield line and give them more problems.

“The players reacted really well to that which I’m pleased about. We saw some of the not-so-good things, in a game where you go and get the comfortable result in the end sometimes it’s good to flush those out.

“I’ve got no problem with how the game went. We’ve had some injuries, we’ve had some problems. We were playing players today that I wanted to rest but couldn’t. But we just have to keep going and use the feeling of the club at the moment to move forward.”

The changes worked because the Blues immediately looked more incisive, creating three chances within five minutes before Rondon got on the board and took the game away from the visitors.