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 workforce.
Lampard took cost of Everton in January 2022, guiding the membership to Premier League survival in dramatic style with a vital 3-2 win over Crystal Palace, a match the place Doucoure was within the beginning lineup.
Nonetheless, regardless of an initially optimistic 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 mentioned: “He didn’t speak, there was no communication between me and him,” he informed The Overlap Breakdown. “I used to be coaching with the Below-21 as a result of I used to be excluded from the workforce, he pushed me away.
“After a house recreation, we had a giant argument between me and him. I used to be not comfortable and I informed him the reality as a result of I’m trustworthy, and he didn’t prefer it. The day after they mentioned you can not stick with the workforce, he felt disrespected by me in entrance of the opposite gamers, they usually mentioned you have to practice with the Below-21s or practice 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 mentioned, ‘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 feel he was sacked per week after.
Throughout Lampard’s tenure, which lasted 44 matches, Doucoure was not often given a beginning function. 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 so much. I feel he made a mistake with me to be trustworthy. I’m a hard-working man and a humble individual, I work laborious in coaching. Clearly, he could make a alternative, I by no means contest the selection a supervisor makes.
“Generally it’s important to be honest and I don’t assume he was honest 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 feel he made a mistake as a result of I simply proved him mistaken after that. As a result of after the brand new supervisor got here, Sean Dyche, I used to be a difference-maker within the workforce.
“It was very laborious as a result of I like Everton, and due to my relationship with him I used to be pushing away, I used to be practically out of the membership. So it was very unhappy for me, as a result of once 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 consider in laborious work, laborious work pays off. I used to be very comfortable 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 workforce’s outcomes. Doucoure believes his former supervisor took away vital classes from his time at Goodison Park.
“He was an incredible participant, he was a improbable participant, everybody is aware of that. However as a supervisor, at Everton it was a giant lesson for him, and I feel he realized from that.”
