Frank Lampard reveals England manager plans and how to ensure winning squad

A legend on the football pitch, Coventry manager Frank Lampard says winning at marriage is a completely different ball game. Former and England midfielder-turned Coventry manager, Frank will celebrate his 10th wedding anniversary to TV presenter Christine later this year.

In an exclusive interview, he reveals: “What keeps me and Christine going is we’re there to support each other and we make each other laugh. We have a similar sense of humour. Christine’s quite sharp and we’re normally thinking the same thing, so the same situations make us laugh - I think laughing together is important for a happy marriage.”

Frank met the then Christine Bleakley at The Daily ’s Pride of Britain Awards in London back in October 2009. But she thought he was pulling her leg when he told her he was a fan of The One Show, which she then presented with Adrian Chiles and she gave him a lighthearted brush off.

Persistent, he got her number and called as she was travelling home. She said afterwards: “I said ‘Wow, you’re keen!’ as a bit of a joke and we chatted. He said he enjoyed meeting me and would like to stay in touch.”

Fast forward 16 years and they are happily married, sharing two children - Patricia, 6, and Freddie, 4 - while Frank also has teenagers Luna, 19, and Isla, 17, from a previous relationship with Spanish model Elen Rivas.

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“Having two young children does bring responsibilities and Christine has her own successful career, as well as pretty much being a full-time mum,” Frank adds.

“We try to find the right work-life balance and support each other and it helps that we understand each other’s lives, as both our jobs are pretty intense and scrutinised. But I'd be lying if I didn’t say Christine takes more responsibility for our children, she’s a fantastic mum.”

Both aged 46, a shared love of football is also a big factor in their relationship. Christine co-hosts the Not Just podcast, where she discusses football and other subjects with TV sports presenters Hayley McQueen and Kelly Cates.

Frank continues: “I do have a pretty good work-life balance at Coventry, but at the same time I sometimes have to be away from home and Christine takes the brunt of the parenting. We enjoy being parents together but it’s important to have time together, too.

“We got married in December 2015 - it was beautiful and we had a fantastic , but our 10th anniversary coming up is one of the busiest times of the year for us. So we haven’t any big plans yet, maybe we’ll put it on hold and celebrate later with a trip somewhere.”

Work is also an important part of life for Frank, who became one of the greatest attacking midfielders of his generation, playing for , Chelsea, and debuting for England in 1999.

Frank - who is currently promoting the British Heart Foundation, Sky and EFL’s Every Minute Matters campaign to encourage people to learn CPR using a 15 minute online course available using the - played for the England team in 2006, 2010 and 2016, scoring 29 goals.

Still Chelsea’s highest goal scorer of all time, despite hanging up his football boots in 2017, the campaign is very important to him.

He says: “I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older, but you hear stories of people having a cardiac arrest more and more often,” he says. “I’ve also got family members who have had heart issues so this campaign is important to me. But what shocks me even more is when I hear of younger footballers who have had cardiac arrests. It only takes 15 minutes to learn CPR and you could save someone’s life.”

Frank, who while playing for Chelsea won a host of honours, including the and the and was awarded an OBE in 2015 for his services to football, has turned Coventry's fortunes around since becoming their manager - helping them move from a relegation-threatened position to a play-off contender.

And the highly ambitious sportsman has hinted he would certainly consider a shot at being England manager. “I’ve come to Coventry and I’m really enjoying my work,” he says. “Having had the different experiences as a manager - Champions League experience, Premier League experience and a relegation battle with .

“And now I’m back here and I want to lay down some good work, if I can, to improve the squad then we can come back again next year. Then I’ll consider those kinds of options. I’m a proud Englishman but right now my focus is on Coventry and doing my job as well as I possibly can.”

Of his success as manager, he says, modestly: “There’s no absolute genius on my part - I had an experience of trying to make a quick impact when I joined Everton mid-season and was trying to get quick results but every job, squad and individual is different.

“I try to breathe confidence and good energy into the team, deliver clear simple messages on the training pitch and build on that. I walked into a very good dressing room in terms of environment.

“We've got a really good team who want to do well for the club and we’re in a position where the last game of the season we can try and make the playoffs which we never expected but now it’s a reality and we want more.

“It’s very different when you’re a manager - the responsibility is much greater - you have to try and work with the whole squad. You have a responsibility from the football club to lead and manage people on and off the pitch. You have to learn new things as quickly as you can when you step from being a player to a manager.

“You have to try and improve all the time as there are lots of challenges and problems that you have to solve. And you have to stay levelheaded during good and bad times - it is more responsibility - but I also feel like I get more pleasure when things go well.”

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