Neal Maupay has conceded he endured a "complicated" first season at Everton due to the dismissal of Frank Lampard.
The French forward was recruited by the Blues last August for a £15million fee, bringing to an end his three-season stay with Brighton. Just one year on from his Merseyside arrival, however, and Maupay is already being linked with a summer exit from the club.
Unable to provide the answer to the Blues' lack of goals, the 26-year-old got off the mark for Everton with a match-winning strike over West Ham in September but could not add to this tally during the remainder of the campaign.
Starting only four Premier League games following Lampard's sacking at the end of January, Maupay was not provided the opportunity to lead the line for the team on a consistent basis. Often preferred was Demarai Gray, serving as a false nine in the prolonged absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
READ MORE: Everton are losing one of the five players who stepped up when they needed it most
READ MORE: Everton player ratings for 2022/23 season tell intriguing story as heroes emerge late on
Reflecting on his first year at Goodison Park during an interview with Nice Matin, the Versailles-born attacker admitted he was surprised at the lack of time afforded to the manager who brought him to the club and who was then replaced by Sean Dyche.
"Yes, it was complicated," he said of his 2022/23 season. "Like I said, we got off to a pretty good start. Then afterwards, we had a less good period. It's true in England, they don't have the time. In England, you lose three or four games in a row and there is pressure from the club's supporters, especially Everton over the last five or six years. I was saying Nice changed six coaches but, Everton, it must be 20.
"Last year, Lampard had arrived four months from the end of the season, the club was already bad. This year, the plan was to re-establish itself at the top of the table, in the first part of the table, especially with the squad we have at Everton.
"They didn't give him time. We changed coaches in January, in the middle of the season suddenly, and it's a change of course. In the end, we ensured the maintenance [in the league]. I hope that next year, with real preparation, we will be able to bounce back."
READ NEXT:
