FRANK LAMPARD singled out one Everton star for praise following his brief spell at Goodison Park.
Lampard, 45, was appointed as manager by the Toffees on January 2022 but only lasted a year after 12 wins and 24 losses in 44 matches.
The Chelsea legend had to steer the ship during a challenging time for the Merseysiders both on and off the pitch but had help from an "amazing" veteran.
And that was none other than Everton captain Seamus Coleman, 35, who always stood up for the club to motivate his players.
Lampard specifically remembered how Coleman reacted after some scathing criticism from Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, 45, during Monday Night Football.
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Carragher, who is a famous Everton fan despite spending his entire career playing for rivals Liverpool, said the players were "not good enough".
But the Republic of Ireland international would have none of it and issued a passionate rallying cry to urge his team-mates to not accept that, which ultimately led to a major turning point.
Lampard told The Overlap via Sky Bet: "Seamus is amazing.
"What a player, I remember playing against him and I didn’t really appreciate it until I worked with him – at that point he was 33.
"It wasn’t just what he did on the pitch, it was what he did off the pitch - his standards, his humility, everything about him.
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"There’s not a bit of him that is not genuine, and he wore it on his face when we were struggling. He'd say, 'I care'. He’d speak in front of the players on his own.
“We spoke about you [Carragher] once at one point because you had a dig on Monday Night Football and said we’re not good enough – he used you as a reference point.
"He was going, ‘Don’t accept that’. As players and managers we have to take some stick – but the only way to deal with it was to react to it.
"It was a bit of a turning point for us – he was always the man to do that.”
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