Everton boss Frank Lampard admits his fringe players flopped in their Carabao Cup thrashing at Bournemouth.
Lampard defended his decision to make eleven changes as the Toffees’ hopes of moving a step closer to winning their first trophy since 1995 were dashed with a 4-1 third round defeat in Dorset.
Manager Lampard said: “We were poor. I made a lot of changes, but the reality of my job is that we want to win every game we play.
“When you go through a season and are not getting many minutes, some players are not happy and want to knock on your door, others want to train well and wait for a chance.
“You have to make the most of your opportunities when you get a chance.
“We treated the game with absolute respect and there was a lot of experience in that side but I learned a lot from the performance, particularly with the manner of the goals we conceded.
“I have to protect players who are playing regularly and we had quite a few players out with knocks. We are going to have a really busy schedule after the World Cup break.
“When players train and ask you to put them in the team and they are paid well by Everton, well come in then and show us what you can do. That was the story of tonight.
“You can only train and repeat but you cannot recreate actual moments that happen in a game, at both ends of the pitch.
“If you make those mistakes repetitively then the answer is simple and that is probably why you don’t play so much.”
