Coach of English Premier League side Everton Frank Lampard has revealed the secret behind the sudden turn around in the form of Nigeria international Alex Iwobi since he took over as coach last season.
Iwobi showed glimpses of what convinced the Toffees to pay big money to Arsenal for him to join them three years ago towards the end of last season. This season he has taken his performance to another level playing in three different roles in the midfield.
He has played the majority of his games as a winger but Lampard realized his best position is in the middle and this season has played him in three different roles which he excelled in making himself a sure starter.
Explaining the sudden change in his form, the coach narrowed it down to seeing what his strengths are and giving him the confidence to execute whatever he wants on a regular basis. He said for years he was wasting away on the flanks.
‘At the moment, I said it last week, I think he’s one of the best midfield players in the league in my opinion in terms of being a No.6 or No.8,’ Lampard said on Thursday.
“He played as a double No.6 earlier in the season and was really, really good for us, and then moved into a slight advanced No.8, and again, his form has been great.
“His development has been brilliant. It’s a funny one, I think there was a perception about Alex when I came in, and it’s all his work, all I’ve done is support him and try to maybe adapt the position slightly, the rest is him.
‘I felt and always saw he’d be dangerous in the middle area of the pitch. It probably helped I was a midfield player and I understood some of the things he had I wouldn’t want to go up against, and I felt they were restricted on the wing. Opening the pitch up more centrally was a big help for him and then the rest is him”.
