Frank Lampard has revealed that he deploys a fining system with his Everton players.
The 44-year-old adopted the same approach during his time as Chelsea head coach, with players fined up to £20,000 if they were late for training, and £500 for every minute they were late for a team meeting.
Lampard managed to steer Everton clear of relegation last campaign and believes it is now time to introduce the fining system in order to maintain discipline in the dressing room.
‘We have a fine system now,’ Lampard said. ‘I said at the time [I came into Everton] it didn’t feel a priority at the time to say, ‘you are fined if you are late.’ The priority was, ‘can we get three points this weekend?’
‘Now we have a little bit more time this season, the group is set up, the players have come and I think a lot of the players like some sort of policing of the standards. It can help if it is done right.
‘The players are fully involved, they are happy with the levels, we are not killing them with the levels, but it is good to have something in place to make sure we stay on point.
‘I speak to the players a lot about the balance of confidence, progression and complacency. It is a very fine line and a leadership group and the right fines system can help keep that balance.’
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Lampard also revealed Everton also have a senior leadership group within the dressing room, which is believed to include James Tarkowski and Conor Coady.
‘We brought it in at the end of last season and it was probably a critical time when we were trying to find ways to stay in the league,’ said Lampard.
‘We had some experienced players, and some who are not here any more, in that group. It looks different now.
‘I have a lot of trust in it. There are good pros in it and a bit of balance that it hopefully represents all of the squad. I went into management and I wasn’t sure about ‘leadership groups.’ I went through my career and I wouldn’t say I didn’t pay attention to it, but I was fortunate that at the club I was at [as a player] it was just there. The leadership group [at Chelsea] just dealt with stuff without being a group.
‘But I also think in modern management some of the things that challenge you all the time should be dealt with by the players before you. When you have a group of good lads who want to do the right thing they can deal with a small issue in the dressing room or how we prepare for a game.’
