Abdoulaye Doucoure has opened up about his troubled time below Frank Lampard at Everton, revealing that their relationship took a pointy downturn, resulting in his exclusion from the primary group.
Lampard took cost of Everton in January 2022, guiding the membership to Premier League survival in dramatic trend with an important 3-2 win over Crystal Palace, a match the place Doucoure was within the beginning lineup.
Nevertheless, regardless of an initially constructive relationship, issues quickly soured between the midfielder and his supervisor.
Reflecting on his expertise below Lampard, Doucoure shared his frustrations over the dearth of communication.
He stated: “He didn’t discuss, there was no communication between me and him,” he instructed The Overlap Breakdown. “I used to be coaching with the Beneath-21 as a result of I used to be excluded from the group, he pushed me away.
“After a house recreation, we had a giant argument between me and him. I used to be not pleased and I instructed him the reality as a result of I’m sincere, and he didn’t prefer it. The day after they stated you can not stick with the group, he felt disrespected by me in entrance of the opposite gamers, and so they stated you must prepare with the Beneath-21s or prepare alone.
“He disrespected me — Everton was a giant lesson, and he learnt from that!” 😬
Abdoulaye Doucoure on his time working below Frank Lampard 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/tz8vAno1lz
— The Overlap (@WeAreTheOverlap) February 10, 2025
“I stated, ‘I’m going to coach alone’ as a result of I understand how to take care of myself. Fortunately it was not lengthy, two or three days, as a result of I believe he was sacked every week after.
Throughout Lampard’s tenure, which lasted 44 matches, Doucoure was hardly ever given a beginning position. In distinction, below managers like Carlo Ancelotti, Sean Dyche, and now David Moyes, he has been a key participant.
“Frank Lampard is the one supervisor who didn’t belief me loads. I believe he made a mistake with me to be sincere. I’m a hard-working man and a humble individual, I work exhausting in coaching. Clearly, he could make a alternative, I by no means contest the selection a supervisor makes.
“Typically you need to be truthful and I don’t assume he was truthful with me, leaving me on the bench for therefore many video games and never giving me my probability, it simply upset me with him. I used to be simply ready for my probability and he didn’t belief me, and I believe he made a mistake as a result of I simply proved him improper after that. As a result of after the brand new supervisor got here, Sean Dyche, I used to be a difference-maker within the group.
“It was very exhausting as a result of I really like Everton, and due to my relationship with him I used to be pushing away, I used to be almost out of the membership. So it was very unhappy for me, as a result of if you begin exploring your choices, going to a different membership – I by no means needed that. My religion could be very sturdy, I all the time imagine in exhausting work, exhausting work pays off. I used to be very pleased to remain, and I signed a brand new contract after that.”
Since leaving Everton, Lampard has taken over as supervisor of Coventry Metropolis and has seen enhancements within the group’s outcomes. Doucoure believes his former supervisor took away essential classes from his time at Goodison Park.
“He was an ideal participant, he was a unbelievable participant, everybody is aware of that. However as a supervisor, at Everton it was a giant lesson for him, and I believe he realized from that.”